Flying Ants

The weather has been beautiful for the last few days! The skies are blue, with the occasional ball of white floating by. The temperature has been in the 20s all week. There has been a lot of wind, which settles into a gentle breeze occasionally.

This morning it was very warm in the house, so the windows were thrown open to let the wind through. This afternoon, to my dismay, one of the dining area windows was covered with flying ants, on the inside of the screen. Yikes!

I closed the window immediately upon noticing these unwanted visitors. Attila planned on climbing on the roof to see what was up with them, as the window can only be accessed from the outside on the roof. But I had an idea. I found a spray bottle, added tap water and about a half teaspoon of Dawn detergent. The window was opened and the spray was applied immediately. A few flew into the house and behind the cabinet where they could not be reached, but most of them remained on the inside of the screen. And it worked! The soapy water killed the flying ants.

They were beginning to build a nest in a little open space in the plastic surrounding the screen, mostly from pine needles. Very surprising. This was the first time I’ve had to deal with flying ants in or on the house.

To identify them I looked up flying ants, and found a web site with lots of images that discussed the difference between flying ants and termites. Our visitors were definitely flying ants.

The spray bottle has been left by the open window, and three or four more ants emerged from the new nest, only to be sprayed and dispatched. The area will need to be watched for a few days to ensure they have all been routed.

At some point in June or July we will be going out to the Camp to cut the grass, spring clean Grace the trailer, and burn fallen branches. We know the biting insects will be very bad! The black fly season will soon wane, but that means the mosquito season will swing into full gear. In anticipation I’ve been taking every lull in the wind to spray our Camp clothes with a permethrin mixture. It is dangerous as a liquid and spray, but becomes inert when it bonds to fabric as it dries. Insects do not bite through fabric sprayed with permethrin. The other effective alternative is the bug spray sold at retail outlets. We choose to spray our clothing once in the spring, and then we are done with bug repellents on arms, legs, and the trunks of our bodies. The bug repellent qualities of permethrin sprayed clothing will last for many washings, and remains effective for the entire season. Of course, we will be brining bug nets with us. Actually, beginning in May of each year, bug nets are kept in the car in case of need, until October.

My back is slowly mending, very slowly. I am able to sleep uninterrupted by spasms, so that is a big improvement. A slow pace, and cautious movement, allows me accomplish some of the things I want to do in a day, such as spray our Camp clothing. It is easy to become too ambitious though, which results in small, painful setbacks. Mother nature has a way of letting humans know just who is boss on planet earth!

And so the quietness of days passes by. Right now life is a lazy river.

Worldly

Weather

Updated on Wed, May 19, 8:55 PM
22 °C
FEELS LIKE 24
Partly cloudy
Wind 4 W km/h
Humidity 56 %
Visibility 30 km
Sunrise 5:36 AM
Wind gust 7 km/h
Pressure 102.5 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 8:33 PM
UV 7High
Pollen Very High

Quote

“All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.”
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe