Name Three Things - 2019

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Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies
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I got kicked out of the house this morning; the electrician showed up and they told me to "Leave! Now!" Snots, both of them. They're going to wire through the trench from the house to the shed for electricity, TV cable, and ethernet cable. So tonight, when I get home, we should have electricity in the shed. Should. :crossfingers: We had a heckuva t-storm this morning, so the trench is basically mud. That's supposed to be the only rain for today.

We are having a horrid ant problem in the kitchen; these are the tiny little ants and we can't figure out where they're coming from. Rick has sprayed Home Defense around the outside of the house. We looked and looked and tried to follow the trail, but we haven't a clue. We clean with Pine Sol and water, we've used Zevo because it's supposed to be safe for pets. Nothing is working. We need to find that nest. I told Rick I'm not baking anything til the ants are gone. No amount of counter cleaning will make me think it's safe to bake. Ick.
  • Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, scooped the boxes (Rick was in the basement, checking for ant nests in the ceiling at the walls), walked two miles, and got ready for work. On the way into work this morning, a mama doe crossed the road right in front of me, followed by her baby fawn, still in spots. Clarence and I stopped and let them cross, waited until I was sure there weren't any more, and then continued on our way.
  • We still didn't go for groceries yet. On Monday, neither of us felt like dealing with groceries. When I got home yesterday, it was pouring rain and we decided we weren't going out in the mess. It was thundering and pouring and.....nope, nope, nope. Maybe tonight.
  • I have to do three small loads of laundry tonight (and I'll have to do them because Rick will be busy today)
  • Trash night tonight
 

Mia6

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We are having a horrid ant problem in the kitchen; these are the tiny little ants and we can't figure out where they're coming from. Rick has sprayed Home Defense around the outside of the house. We looked and looked and tried to follow the trail, but we haven't a clue. We clean with Pine Sol and water, we've used Zevo because it's supposed to be safe for pets. Nothing is working. We need to find that nest. I told Rick I'm not baking anything til the ants are gone. No amount of counter cleaning will make me think it's safe to bake. Ick.
Try Tero but it's not safe for pets. Put the traps everywhere you see them. I've never had a problem with my cats getting near them.
 

Winchester

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Try Tero but it's not safe for pets. Put the traps everywhere you see them. I've never had a problem with my cats getting near them.
Winchester Winchester , are all the ants tiny or is there an occasional larger one? Reason I ask is that carpenter ants come in large and small.
We use the Terro ant baits, way back by the walls on the counters. Way, way back. These are the teeny, tiny little ants, no bigger ones. We never had an ant problem until we demo'ed the kitchen a few years ago. Since then, it's been every year. Rick found some nests in the basement a couple years ago....where the basement walls meet the basement ceiling. He pulled back insulation, sprayed like crazy and then wiped the nests out. He was back down there this morning, but he hasn't found new nests yet. They're trailing across the top of the dishwasher to the sink. But the sink is spotless; I clean the sink every time I use it. And we can't find where the trail is coming from. Usually, if there's a trail, it's coming from somewhere.

This morning, they were in the trash can under the sink; it was disgusting. The only thing in the can was a couple paper towels where I had cleaned up cat food on the floor last night. I should have taken that out last night and didn't. Rick took the bag of used towels out to the main can outside, I poured Pine Sol into the kitchen trash can, washed it out and put it out on the deck to air-dry. And then cleaned the sink. Again.

It just seems that the tiniest little thing is attracting them. I've also tried sprinkling cinnamon, spraying with Pine Sol and water, etc. I'm ready to call an exterminator. I'm disgusted. We have to be careful on the counters because of the cats. And we have to be careful on the floor because of The Beast. To her, everything needs at least a lick!
 

foxxycat

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try borax. someone from work put it against the wall where they come or around your trash can on the floor..they think it's food, carry back to the nest and poof. or DE food grade. sprinkle it around the surfaces by trash can-it's all natural, sufficates the buggers. kills any insect that breathes through it's skin. fleas. roaches. bed bugs. ants.
 

susanm9006

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Winchester Winchester , it’s good they are tiny. In my previous house, the year after I had also renovated the kitchen and 15 years at that house I started getting ants in the kitchen sink and trash. Some were quite small but some bigger ones occasionally too. I went through tons of Terri and they kept coming back. Finally called the exterminator and he said I had carpenter ants in the basement. Me and the cats had to be out for the day and when I returned it was to a horror show. Went down the basement steps and the whole floor was covered with writhing dying and dead ants. Thousands of them everywhere. Apparently there were enormous nests behind the paneled walls. And even worse is that for the next six weeks they continue to crawl out and die and when you stepped on them they popped and crackled. Even the cats were grossed out and wouldn’t go down to use their litter boxes until I built ramps so they didn’t need to walk on the floor. And whenever I went down I had to push a broom in front of me so I didn’t have to listen to the snap, crackle pop of them.

But they did die off and the next year I suited up head to toe and tore all that nasty paneling off.
 

bbdoll22

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Liquid Borax Ant Bait Recipes

You’ll find several types of liquid borax ant bait recipes, so it helps to try out different options to see which one works better for the species of ant you’re dealing with. No matter which recipe you use, you’ll need some type of container to hold the bait. You can use a small plastic container, plastic lid, paper plate, or cotton ball. The only important part is to make sure the ants can easily get in and out of your bait holder.

One recipe you can try calls for a half cup of sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of borax, and 1.5 cups of warm water. Simply mix all the ingredients together until they’re blended, and place the bait in the trap for the ants to consume.

Another recipe to try, calls for three parts sugar for every one part borax. For example, if you use 1 cup of sugar you’ll need to mix it with one-third cup of borax. Blend these two ingredients together until you have no more lumps. Next, add enough water to turn the mixture into a thick paste. For the above example, about one-quarter cup of water will suffice. Finally, add about one-quarter cup of syrup to the mixture for a thick, sticky substance the ants can’t resist.

Winchester Winchester
This kills mine within a week. I put it on a cotton ball, always keeping it wet with bait, in bottle caps. Keep away from pets though. Put it under fridge, stove, garbage cabinet. And if you can find a way to keep the cats away put it on the dishwasher.
 

micknsnicks2mom

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Winchester Winchester , i've had what i call the 'annual 'piss ant' invasion' almost every year here. little, tiny ants. for me, it does seem to do with who's renting the little house that's close to mine next door -- how clean they keep that house, if they leave food/crumbs out that attract ants. i've found that using gallon zipper bags as 'scrap bags', and storing them in the fridge until full, helps a lot. if there's nothing in the kitchen trash can that can attract the ants, then they don't come to our house. i also never leave cat food (wet or dry cat food) sitting out after my cats meals. shortly after we first moved here, i woke up one morning and found the little dish of dry cat food covered in ants......:jawdrop: . so from then on, i serve up wet/dry cat food and then immediately clean the cat food dishes, with scraps going into the scrap bag.

today i've done some printing.

i'll wash the dishes, and scoop the litter boxes. i'll be sterilizing some canning jars and lids today, as well as pre-measuring spices for making/canning a small batch of salsa.

after that, i'll play some computer games, continue with a jigsaw puzzle, and watch some tv.
 

Mia6

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Winchester Winchester , it’s good they are tiny. In my previous house, the year after I had also renovated the kitchen and 15 years at that house I started getting ants in the kitchen sink and trash. Some were quite small but some bigger ones occasionally too. I went through tons of Terri and they kept coming back. Finally called the exterminator and he said I had carpenter ants in the basement. Me and the cats had to be out for the day and when I returned it was to a horror show. Went down the basement steps and the whole floor was covered with writhing dying and dead ants. Thousands of them everywhere. Apparently there were enormous nests behind the paneled walls. And even worse is that for the next six weeks they continue to crawl out and die and when you stepped on them they popped and crackled. Even the cats were grossed out and wouldn’t go down to use their litter boxes until I built ramps so they didn’t need to walk on the floor. And whenever I went down I had to push a broom in front of me so I didn’t have to listen to the snap, crackle pop of them.

But they did die off and the next year I suited up head to toe and tore all that nasty paneling off.
Oh Susan, that is dreadful!! I've never heard of an ant problem that severe.
I don't think I would have been able to go down to the basement.


Winchester Winchester Are you thinking of calling an exterminator? My neighbor, not on the other side of the duplex, was having a dreadful problem with carpenter ants. They finally found the nest which was outside, closer to my property than theirs. They asked if I wanted to see it but I declined. They put gasoline on it and destroyed it, very illegal here but it killed them.
 

Winchester

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Thanks guys. We "only" saw 2-3 this morning. Believe me, "only" 2-3 is good. Those buggers were all over the place. I'm going to try Borax mixed with the sugar, syrup, and water. Thank you. Die, ants, die! If that doesn't work, I am calling an exterminator. susanm9006 susanm9006 I would have been horrified! That's terrible!

We have electricity, cable, and ethernet in the shed. :yess: I'll take the laptop out this weekend to see how well the ethernet works; I have to set up the access point and the Switch. The McShed has it own junction box, which is wired to the box in the house. When the electrician labeled the circuits at the McShed, he labelled them Library Internet, Library TV, and Library Power. He knows I want to use the McShed as a library. He said, "I was just gonna put Shed, but then I know you're calling it your library!" He won't be back now until the contractor is finished.

The new computer should be here today. I hope so.
  • Breakfast for the kids, walked 2.5 miles, and got ready for work. I stopped in at Giant on my way in this morning....my turn to buy the pretzels. We have a big container of hard pretzels in the office and take turns filling the thing. We all really like Utz hard pretzels. Container is filled and ready to go.
  • I'm beginning to think we'll not be buying groceries this week, didn't make it again last night. Hopefully we'll get down there tonight after work. But I wouldn't hold my breath.
  • I need to do some shopping. Rick's 50th class reunion is this Saturday and he said I have to go. Even if I only go for dinner, I have to go. And I have nothing to wear.
 

Winchester

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We finally made it for groceries last night, basically cat food and paper towels. The girls weren't even close to running out of food, but I always worry when they get down to the last 20 cans or so.

The ditch to the shed was filled in yesterday, too. That's a big step that's now done. We're going to let things settle in, see where we're at, and then get some stone to fill in at the top of the driveway. Looks pretty good. At some point, we'd like to pave the driveway, but we have a lot of cables and pipes running underneath it, so I don't know if we'll ever do it.
  • Breakfast for the kids, spent some time talking to Rick, and got ready for work
  • Rick is going into the bar tonight to meet with people from his class. I'm not going, so maybe I'll spend some time getting the new computer set up. I still didn't get any shopping done, though, and the blasted reunion is tomorrow night. Gosh, I hate reunions.
And that will be my day.
 

Winchester

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I'm switched over to the new computer. The whole thing took about 15 minutes to hook everything up, get Win10 to set up, and get online. The worst part was dusting all the old stuff off; man, cat hair, dust bunnies, geez. And I do clean, I swear.
  • Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, ran one load of laundry, scooped the boxes, and switched over to the new computer.
  • Must go to Target for my meds and to Christopher and Bank to find something to wear tonight to that blasted reunion.
  • Going to work on transferring stuff from the external drive to the new computer tonight. I still need to do my email.....that's gonna be fun! And set up the wireless printer.
ETA: So I got the computer set up. And found a cable. And thought, "Well, where does this thing go?" I started fingering my way through things and it goes to the printer. Oh boy! :paperbag::paperbag:
 
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artiemom

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A quick cleanup this morning
Out to Christmas Tree Shop and Kohl's
Put stuff away
Vacuumed hall--do not ask why
visited a friend in my building
A couple of phone calls
Cuddled on my bed with Geoffrey
Supper; junk food and a cocktail
fed and played with Geoffrey
in my pj''s
relaxing with another cocktail.. I am wiped out.. did not sleep well.. Geoffrey was cuddled up so tight against me; I could not move.

Done for today......
 

Wrigley

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1/ Went out to get the things l needed for...
2/ Cast some "rocks" for the rock/stone painting group l joined.
3/ Painted a couple of stones. Just need to seal them and then hide them out in the community for people to find and keep or rehide.
 

Winchester

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1/ Went out to get the things l needed for...
2/ Cast some "rocks" for the rock/stone painting group l joined.
3/ Painted a couple of stones. Just need to seal them and then hide them out in the community for people to find and keep or rehide.
Wrigley Wrigley , that sounds interesting. What exactly do you do with these rocks?

Computer is finished. I lost my PSP (Paint Shop Pro) files in the process and am still looking for them; they have to be around somewhere. But it's all connected. Printer (and it prints; I tested). Sound. I can play music. All that good stuff. It works. I had to buy new Office software; it came with a trial version of Office 365 and I'm not going there. And Microsoft wouldn't take my product key for the 2016 version that I had on the old computer. So I bought Office 2019. I also installed Kaspersky for protection. It came with a McAfee trial, but I really like Kaspersky. Took McAfee out, installed Kaspersky. They took the KAS product key from the old computer and life goes on.
  • Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, and am sitting back here with my coffee. Rick stripped the bed and put the sheets in the washer. I'll scoop when I'm done with my coffee.
  • Two loads of laundry (I ran a load yesterday)
  • Vacuum, Swiffer, wipe down kitchen and bathroom
  • Visit with Rick's mom
Tomorrow is Monday :sigh:
 
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