So it seems like not every time, but sometimes when it rains really hard or when it is really hot and dry we get ants. I am not a fan of ants and certainly not a fan of them in the house. Like I said we don’t get them all the time, but maybe every other year or so during a heavy rain. Sometimes they can be thwarted, if you see that first one you know they are scouting and the rest may be on their way. So sometimes, when you get that first one (or first few) you can stop the invasion. But sometimes you just walk into a room and it is like there is a surface moving. UGH! I am not a fan! With pets it is real pain to get rid of the ants because we want to be careful with what we use. A couple of years ago I came across Diatomaceous earth. I remember we were having a particularly difficult time with the ants so I was going to try something different. Well, I ordered it, but I didn’t get around to trying it. I was happy that I remembered I had purchased it so I could try it this time.
We had a recent ant invasion. They didn’t come for our food they came for the cats’ food. They came to one area and I moved the food to treat that area then they attacked at the second area. Well, I remembered the Diatomaceous earth. I wasn’t sure it really worked but . . .
I am not a bug killer (I have my husband do it 
), sometimes I will rescue a spider. So normally I don’t like to watch things die, but I wanted to see if the Diatomaceous earth would work and I wanted to see if it was true. Bugs with exoskeletons can be killed with it. Ants, bed bugs, fleas, roaches, and earwigs can be killed with Diatomaceous earth yet – FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous earth can be consumed by mammals.
I wanted to verify it killed ants before I sprinkled it in the two affected areas of our house. The next ant I saw was my victim. And, yeah, he just kind of jerked around then stopped moving. So did the second one. So, I sprinkled it in the two areas I thought the ants were coming in.
Diatomaceous earth is dirt rich in silica and is made up of fossilized remains of single-celled and siliceous organisms called diatoms. So in order for it to be safe for your pets it must be FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous earth. The FOOD GRADE kind contains less than 1% crystalline silica. The industrial or non-food grade Diatomaceous earth has levels of crystalline silica that can be harmful to pet and humans.
Now, having white powder around the house where little paws can get it is not really that great, but at least it is not poison.
And . . . so far so good, no ants.
Do you get ants ever? What do you do to get rid of them?
Not to detract from my quick, short post, but . . . . I actually asked my husband what title to give this. I was going between the one you see, wanting people to know it was about more than just ants and this one, which I think is catchy – The Ants Stop Marching One By One, Hurrah, Hurrah.
And he came up with a trendy one – The Mandiblorian – Bug Killer and, as a fan of Bob’s Burgers – Now You See Them, Now They’re Dead – catchy phrases on the vans.
Which one do you like?
