Archive for the ‘do it’ Category

Yesterday, my son found ants in our kitchen.  They were swarming around a fallen crumb of food.

Well, as much as I admire their industriousness, I simply can’t have ants in my kitchen.

No trouble, I know just what to do.

It’s Mighty Mule Team Borax to the rescue… again.

You see, my mom had this same problem at her house a year ago.  She tried the little ant traps available at the hardware store.  They didn’t work.  She called an exterminator.  They wanted a $60 fee to come out to the house and they use pesticides.  “No thanks,” she said.

Start with a small spoonful of jam.  Ants apparently can’t resist strawberry jam- or whatever else you may have.

Next pour in an equal amount of Borax.  And stir together well.

And spoon a small amount of the mixture onto an index card.  I cut my index card into 4 pieces and made 4 cards.

Next place the cards in strategic locations where you’ve seen the ants.

BE CAREFUL IF YOU HAVE A PET.  While Borax is natural and environmentally friendly, it is toxic if ingested.  I placed my cards just inside the pantry door, and cautioned to kids to make sure to keep the doors shut while I have the cards out.  The ants can get to the sweet concoction, but my sweet little lunch-mouth dog cannot.

Give the cards a few days to do their job.  If all goes well, those ants should be history.

It worked for my mom last year, so I have high hopes.  I love when you can solve a problem for pennies.

***2013 Update:  I had ants that were more difficult to get rid of this year.  The first time I tried this method, it worked they were gone, but came back about 2 weeks later.  This time they didn’t seem to be drawn to the jam.  So I mixed together a small amount of jam and peanut butter, then added the borax and set them out.  They went for the trap almost immediately and it worked like a charm getting rid of them.

Look what came in the mail a few days ago.  It’s Lily and Emma’s birthday present.

Yes, they are creepy.  Yes, they are crawly.  And furry.  They already have names like Bob, Lunchmouth and Mr. Fuzz (though I don’t think any of us can tell them apart really.)

With any luck in a few short weeks, they will turn into:

Painted lady butterflies.

The girl’s gift was the Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden.  It came with the pop up pavilion and a card to mail away for the caterpillars.  Their birthday was the beginning of March, but we had to wait for the temperatures to be right before sending away for the caterpillars.

In the few short days since they arrived, the tiny caterpillars have grown to 4 times their size…  just like in one of our favorite books The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

As soon as they form a chrysalis, they will move into “the Pavilion.”  Where we will wait for them to transform into butterflies.

Of the gifts they received for their birthday, this one is by far the most entertaining and interesting for the whole family.  We have loved reading painted lady facts… like a painted lady has 1000 eyes.  And we have loved learning about the miracle of a tiny caterpillar that transforms into a butterfly… and watching the process first hand, that’s pretty darn cool.