It's ant season here.
The kind we have are the really really really tiny ones. But that does not describe their foreign policy. I think they have plans to take over the world.
The other day Hub Man left a bag of tortilla chips out on the dining room table overnight. In the morning I noticed an odd looking stripe on the carpet. I went over to examine it more closely and there was an inch wide, 'invasion of Normandy' style swath of thousands of ants that ran from the sliding glass door, across the carpet, up TWO legs of my table and ended in a truly horrific looking swarm of them inside the chip bag.
AAAAHHHHHHH!
Out went the bag to the garbage can, and the spraying began. I got the little beggers, but it took a while to clean up the battlefield. Thank God for vacuums.
A few days later we had a skirmish in the utility room involving Griffen's cat food bowl. Ant spray to the rescue. Now I know why in wars they call the last bits the "mop up operations".
But at the moment, the ants are occupied on other fronts. Though this bit is fairly gruesome and the squeamish should just go on to the next diary. :-)
The other day Griffen dispatched a vole and dragged the carcass over onto the patio for us to admire. I have a nice view of it from the slider. The first time I saw it, I noticed the ant trail going to and from the poor thing. Well, I thought, that will keep the little blighters busy for a while, and out of my house. Then I found them hollowing out three of my peaches as mentioned in an earlier post. I just left those peaches out there on the retaining wall for them to devour. Have at it, I figured. Better there than on my dining table.
So I have over the last few days watched the dismantling of the vole by ants and other smaller creatures. At one point the whole thing was surrounded by a halo of black fungus of some kind, that bloomed and faded in 24 hours. The peaches decompose more gracefully to tell you the truth, and the ick factor is much lower. While I realize this is all a bit gruesome and messy,(especially when the vole got all wet yesterday from the lawn sprinkler)... ewwww.
The ants are not coming into my house.
Maybe I could start a business. "Natural Pest Control" I could get Griffen to supply me with dead voles, and I could pick up bruised peaches from supermarkets and place them in people's back yards. I could wear one of those full body suits with the plastic visor and make it look real official and hazardous and everything.
Then in a few weeks I would come back and dispose of the pits and bones for them free of charge.
Well, whaddaya think? Could I make a living?
Afterthought: Anybody want to see a photo of the Vole? Just thought I would ask, it's easy enough done. Though if you DO want to see him, better let me know soon. Those ants are doing a bang up job.