{"id":18720,"date":"2015-05-13T06:27:52","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T10:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=18720"},"modified":"2019-11-26T07:13:27","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T12:13:27","slug":"uninvited-guests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/05\/13\/uninvited-guests\/","title":{"rendered":"Uninvited Guests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18722\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/05\/13\/uninvited-guests\/ants\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ants.jpg?fit=640%2C664&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,664\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"Ants\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ants.jpg?fit=640%2C664&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18722\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ants.jpg?resize=640%2C664&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ants\" width=\"640\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ants.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ants.jpg?resize=289%2C300&amp;ssl=1 289w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We had an invasion last week &#8211; ants. They waltzed in through the back door and made themselves right at home. I went into full lunatic mode &#8211; ants skeeve me out! I sprayed the countertops with vinegar, ants <em>hate<\/em> vinegar, I didn&#8217;t want\u00a0pesticides around where I prepare food. Unfortunately, there were <em>still<\/em> ants on my counter foraging for toaster crumbs. Armed with a spray can of Ant Kill&#x2122;, I went outside and sprayed along the house and near the door. I still had ants.<\/p>\n<p>After doing some research &#8211; I discovered that using insect killer in a can <em>will<\/em> kill them. But really, all you&#8217;re doing is ticking off the Queen back in the nest. She&#8217;ll just send more of her subjects back to your house.\u00a0What you have to do is make them a poisonous snack that they&#8217;ll bring back to their condo and share with their friends. Recipe behind the cut.\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>You will need:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 cup warm water<\/li>\n<li>1\/3 cup granulated sugar<\/li>\n<li>1 tablespoon Borax (In the laundry aisle of the supermarket)<\/li>\n<li>cotton balls<\/li>\n<li>small squares of wax paper or foil<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>1. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then\u00a0add the Borax and stir well.<\/p>\n<p>2. Soak cotton balls in the mixture and place on wax paper or foil anywhere you see ants. I know it&#8217;s tempting, but don&#8217;t\u00a0kill the ants &#8211; let them feast and be on their merry way back to the nest.<\/p>\n<p>I set out three &#8220;snacks&#8221;, there were dozens of ants on each cotton ball. The following day, I cleaned them up and put out a few more &#8211; just in case &#8211; but there were no takers. It worked!!! My neighbor, Arlene suggests that you squirt some dish soap on the ground where they enter and hose it down. This will get rid of their trail.<\/p>\n<p>So far so good &#8211; I haven&#8217;t seen any of the pesky buggers, I&#8217;ll keep you posted, dear readers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We had an invasion last week &#8211; ants. They waltzed in through the back door and made themselves right at home. I went into full lunatic mode &#8211; ants skeeve me out! I sprayed the countertops with vinegar, ants hate &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/05\/13\/uninvited-guests\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1985,4],"tags":[3535,1963,3536],"class_list":["post-18720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domestic-bliss-2","category-news","tag-ants","tag-borax","tag-household-pests"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-4RW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18762,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/05\/20\/the-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":0},"title":"The Birds","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"May 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It's always something. No sooner did I rid myself of the ants in the kitchen, now it's\u00a0birds stealing the basil in the backyard - not just mine, my neighbor's too. They swoop in, swipe\u00a0a leaf, smirk, and fly off. They didn't touch the rosemary, oregano or sage - however,\u00a0I wasn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Domestic Bliss&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Domestic Bliss","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/domestic-bliss-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BasilTin.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BasilTin.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BasilTin.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25696,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2019\/08\/19\/chocolate-banana-muffins\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":1},"title":"Chocolate Banana Muffins","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"August 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I buy bananas, and two days later, they're covered in brown spots due to the heat wave we're having. I was going to make a banana bread, but muffins take less time to bake, and I had to do something with the half bag of chocolate chips in the cupboard!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lovin' from the Oven&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lovin' from the Oven","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/lovin-from-the-oven\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/ChocBananaMuffins.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/ChocBananaMuffins.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/ChocBananaMuffins.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45086,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/05\/19\/deli-pasta-salad\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":2},"title":"Deli Pasta Salad","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"May 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Barbecue season is right around the corner, and this salad pairs beautifully with burgers, chicken, or whatever you put on your grill. It's creamy, the vegetables give it a nice crunch, and you can make it in a snap! 2 cups macaroni or mini penne, dry 3\/4 cup mayonnaise 2\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lovin' from the Oven&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lovin' from the Oven","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/lovin-from-the-oven\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/MacSalad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/MacSalad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/MacSalad.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23025,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2017\/12\/27\/easy-vinaigrette\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":3},"title":"Easy Vinaigrette","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"December 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"After the hunks of holiday pie, and mountains of mashed potatoes with gravy - we try to reverse the damage with salads. I've been packing salad for Joe to take to work, tossing in various vegetables, olives, and cheese leftover from the holiday, along with a light vinaigrette. 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We were on the lookout for asparagus, when we stopped at Pat and Larry's stand. They had fat bundles of dandelion greens that looked good enough for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lovin' from the Oven&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lovin' from the Oven","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/lovin-from-the-oven\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Dandelion.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Dandelion.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Dandelion.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13851,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/07\/22\/its-too-darn-hot\/","url_meta":{"origin":18720,"position":5},"title":"It&#8217;s Too Darn Hot!","author":"Tina Garceau","date":"July 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week was brutal - the heat index on Friday was 110\u00ba, needless to say - the boy and I spent a lot of time at the pool. When it's that hot, the last thing I want is to be anywhere near a stove or eat hot food. I would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lovin' from the Oven&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lovin' from the Oven","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/lovin-from-the-oven\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/ChickenSalad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/ChickenSalad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/ChickenSalad.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}