Go Away Ants

Go Away Ants!!!

We are being invaded by ants! I was doing some on line searching for ways to get rid of them. Here are a few interesting ones I found:




Mint Tea
Brew some strong mint tea and spray it on their pathway...they won't cross it.


Tape
Wrap double stick tape around legs of table, chairs, or whatever, that should stop them in their tracks.


Drown them
Run a rod down in the top of their anthill and...
Pour soapy water (1/4 cup liquid hand soap and 1 gallon water) into their ant hill.
Also you can,
Pour a boiling mixture of (Boil 3 gallons of water, add 4 cups of citrus peels in a pot, simmer 15 minutes).


Salt
Sprinkle salt in their pathway.


Petroleum Jelly
Rub fairly thick on whatever you're wanting to keep them off of.


Lemons
Put lemon slices where you don't want them...they don't like tangy scents.




Cucumbers
Scatter cucumber pieces on the ground in the area you are having trouble, they don't like them.


Mint
Scatter fresh mint in the problem area. If this is a picnic "spot", etc. plant some mint, that should deter them.




Cloves
Mix up a spray bottle with a cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of ground cloves and spray their trail.




Eggshells
Sprinkle eggshells around the troublesome area, they don't like them.




Sticky Trap
Place petroleum jelly, corn syrup,honey or something similar on a paper plate and you'll find several stuck in their tracks.




Borax
Set out shallow containers of equal amounts of borax, alum, sugar and flour mixed (with enough water to make a batter). Keep out of reach of children and pets though.






Mix 1 cup borax, 2/3 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a bowl. Dip cotton balls in mixture and place along their trail. When they eat them, that's all she wrote... Again, keep out of reach of children and pets.






Artificial Sweeteners
Pour a few packets of the generic version of the stuff in the areas that the ants are frequenting, and watch 'em disappear. I've had great luck with both the kind that comes in the pink, and the blue, packets (aspartame and saccharine). It's cheap, it works, and it won't kill your pets or your kids.


Cornmeal
Sprinkle in troublesome areas, they'll eat it...it swells in their stomachs and they die.


Flour
Pour a line of flour around the problem area. They won't cross it.




Baby Powder
Sprinkle in the troublesome area. They won't cross the powder.




Athlete's Foot Powder
Same as with the flour and baby powder. Sprinkle in problem areas...apparently they don't like white powder.




Boric Acid Solution
Combine a small amount of boric acid, sugar and hot water in a spray bottle and swirl mixing thoroughly. Boric Acid can be purchased at any discount retailer ,under the name Borax. Make sure to keep this away from pets or children as it is hazardous. This is a good option for long term control.




Bleach Solution
Combine a small amount of bleach with hot water in a spray bottle and swirl mixing thoroughly. Make sure to keep this away from pets or children as it is hazardous. This is a good option for long term control. Using the name brands, like Clorox, does not add any additional killing power.




Ammonia
Spray Window cleaner liberally and watch them stop in their tracks, dead. This is a good option for short term control. It will have to be reapplied to be effective as the ants appear.




Oatmeal or Grits
Leave a few pieces of instant oatmeal or grits (some sort of water absorbing food) out where the ants are appearing. Get it as close to the nest as possible. The ant will take it back to the nest and eat it. Once eaten the food expands essentially popping the bug. Nice visual huh? Cruel but effective and non toxic. This option has to be applied frequently.






Now, if you don't want to kill the ants, but just want to keep them away from a particular area like a garden etc place a few drops of peppermint essential oil in a spray bottle and fill with water. Spray this generously around the area but try to avoid the plants themselves.






Cinnamon
I sprinkled it heavily on the hills. Ants were gone completely in about 3 weeks, but definitely saw a difference in one week. I repeated every 2 months during summer. Then only needed it twice a year for the next year and now I use it once a year as a preventive. Plus the garage smells great! This is the best thing ever. Worked on red ants and black ants, that I know of. Make sure you know where they are coming from and sprinkle there.

Unexpected Cleaners

Use white bread to: Dust an oil painting. Gently dab a slice of white bread over the surface to pick up dirt and grime.

Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.

Use oatmeal to: Scrub very dirty hands. Make a thick paste of oatmeal and water; rinse well.

Use rice to: Clean the inside of a vase or a thin-necked bottle. Fill three quarters of the vessel with warm water and add a tablespoon of uncooked rice. Cup your hand over the opening, shake vigorously, and rinse.

Use tea to: Scour rusty garden tools. Brew a few pots of strong black tea. When cool, pour into a bucket. Soak the tools for a few hours. Wipe each one with a cloth. (Wear rubber gloves or your hands will be stained.)

Use glycerin to: Remove dried wax drippings from candlesticks. Peel off as much wax as possible, then moisten a cotton ball with glycerin and rub until clean.

Use club soda to: Shine up a scuffed stainless-steel sink. Buff with a cloth dampened with club soda, then wipe dry with another clean cloth.

Use hydrogen peroxide to: Disinfect a keyboard. Dip a cotton swab in hydrogen peroxide to get into those nooks and crannies.

Use cornstarch to: Clean grease spills on carpets. Pour cornstarch onto spots and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes before vacuuming.

Use rubbing alcohol to: Erase permanent-marker stains from finished wood floors or solid-surface countertops. Pour rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and apply.

Holiday Recycling

Donate your Holiday Cards to St. Jude's Ranch for Children.

www.stjudesranch.org/

This organization helps abused, abandoned and neglected children. The children earn money by removing the fronts of donated cards to make new cards that are sold in packets of 10.

You get to recycle, reuse, donate and help a wonderful cause. Check the website for donation and purchasing details.

Washday

Washday

A photographic homage to humanity's most shared tradition.

Wayne D. King

52 pages

Premium Paper

50% of proceeds, after production costs, to be donated to Project Laundry List!

There's something warm and comforting about a wash line on a beautiful day. It is a timeless image that speaks to us of days gone by and days to come. It is a metaphor for our connection to the earth and our shared humanity."Washday" is a photographic essay that captures those moments and puts them on your coffee table. More than a conversation piece, it is an invitation to engage one another in a dialog about saving the planet and about those rare moments when a small experience - the smell of fresh sheets, the warmth of the sun, the flapping of clothes in the breeze - can serve as a joyous bridge connecting each of us to one another through a shared experience and the hope that connection can inspire.

Wayne D. King is an accomplished photographer. His images are a celebration of life, blending the real and the surreal to achieve a sense of place or time that reaches beyond the moment into a dreamlike quintessentialism designed to spark an emotional response. Using digital enhancement, handcrafting, painting, and sometimes even straight photography, King takes the viewer to a place that is beyond simple truth to where truth meets passion, hope and dreams.

Ways to Save

Here are some ways to save energy this Summer:

Close your curtains-block out the sun's heat by closing your window treatments on the south side of the house during the day.

Open your windows- Open you windows at night when the temperatures are cool. Then close them in the morning to seal in the cool air for the day.

Turn up your thermostat- set thermostat between 74 and 78 a degrees for comfort and energy savings. Resist the urge to drop the temp for a quick cool. It just taxes your system and wastes energy.

Schedule heat producing periods- Use the dishwasher, oven and dryer during the early morning or evening instead of during the heat of mid day. For extra savings, Use your grill and microwave instead of your oven or cook top to prepare meals.

Clear out yard waste- remove shrubs, plants and flowers that block airflow from around your A/C unit

Home Remedy

Home Remedy for indigestion, acid reflux, allergies and arthritis:

2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
Mix with filtered or distilled water

Drink twice daily and you should feel better in 1 to 2 weeks.

Quick Tips for Saving Energy in your Home

Quick Tips for Saving Energy in your Home

• Regularly cleaning or replacing your filter will help your furnace run at full efficiency and supply better air flow.
• Keep the heat in by caulking, sealing and weather-stripping around your doors and windows to prevent heat from escaping to the outside. This makes your home more energy efficient and can create a savings on your energy bill.
• Close fireplace dampers when they are not in use. Having your fireplace cleaned and checked out by a professional every year keeps it operating safely and efficiently.

Doors and fireplaces account for 11% and 14% of your home’s heat loss respectively.

• Reduce energy costs and increase comfort with a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat can maximize your energy savings without the hassle of manually adjusting your thermostat. Large energy savings are possible when thermostat settings are set back during the sleep hours and times when no one is home.
• Set the thermostat at an energy efficient setting (between 68 and 72 degrees F or lower). Remember that for each degree the thermostat setting can is lowered, you could see a 3% energy savings on the heating portion of your bill.
• Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan. By changing the direction to clockwise in the winter, the fan will push rising warm air back into the room.

Only 20% of homes built before 1980 were well insulated.

• Consider adding insulation in your attic. You can increase the comfort of your home while reducing your heating and cooling needs by up to 30% by investing just a few hundred dollars in proper insulation and weatherization products.
• Open your draperies and let the sun in. The sun's rays will warm your home. Conversely, after dark close your draperies to hold heat inside your home.
• Close doors and/or heating vents to unused rooms.
• Be sure heating registers and vents are not blocked by draperies or furniture. These vents should also be cleaned regularly with a broom or vacuum.
• If your home has single-pane windows, as almost half of U.S. homes do, consider replacing them. New double-pane windows with high-performance glass can reduce heat loss. Storm windows can reduce your heat loss through windows by 25% to 50%.

Windows can account for 10% to 15% of your heating bill.

• Repair leaky hot water faucets immediately. A hot water faucet leaking one drop per second wastes 160 gallons per month - or 16 hot baths!

What are you doing to save energy in your home?

Laundry List

I have been asked to participate in another blog.

Go check it out at :http://blog.laundrylist.org/

If you hang your clothing out to dry.....join us!

Yellow Pages

Millions of phone books hit American doorsteps unsolicited every year.

That is more than 19 MILLION TREES!

If you don't a Phone Book, join me in saying "no thanks" at http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/