I is for Invasion

I got this text from my daughter on Tuesday afternoon while I was at the soccer fields, working my side gig with the photographer:

Silly me, I was more concerned with explaining to her the many reasons she couldn't drive to the baseball game (the most important one being that I had taken the car) than I was with that first sentence. You know, the one about the ants.

It's spring. Spring means rain. Rain means ants like to come inside the nice, dry house.

We have been ant-free inside our home for several years. An occasional one or two would wander in the front door, but they were easily squashed and that was the end of that. I assumed that was all Emma meant when she said "ants in the entry hall."

I was very wrong.

Before I went home from preschool on Thursday, I made a visit to a natural foods store in town for some essential oils. One of them will be used for a later post (anticipation is killing you, isn't it?). The second one I purchased was peppermint oil. I had seen it come up repeatedly on Pinterest as a natural ant repellent. I figured I could make a preemptive strike on the ants sneaking in the front door and take care of my ant problem then and there.

Found on mommypotamus.com

I walked in the door around 2:30, all happy and planning to make the hummus for my "H" post and make itty bitty cupcakes for my "I" post for the A to Z Challenge. I was especially excited as I walked in the front door because some craft supplies that I intend to use for the Challenge had arrived (already! I only ordered them on Monday evening). As I set my purse down on the bench inside the door, I happened to glance at the floor and saw...

Ants.

A line of ants.

A line of ants going from the window at the foot of the stairs, around the stairs, down the entry hall, and into the kitchen. Another line was coming out, little crumb treasures held triumphantly over their heads, as they made their way back to the window. (By the way, did you know those nasty little sweet-eating ants are called piss ants? An exterminator told me that.)

I followed the little assholes down the hallway and into the kitchen. Fortunately, they were on the floor (plenty to eat down there), but not on the counters or in the cabinets, so it appears I won't have to burn the house down or anything. I dripped some of the peppermint oil onto a cotton ball, as per the directions from Pinterest, to wipe onto the area where the ants were coming in, but first I had to do some eradication. (I can state unequivocally that peppermint does, indeed, kill ants, especially when you smash them with a peppermint-soaked cotton ball.)  After I squished and squashed all of them with peppermint oil-soaked cotton balls (meaning I was crawling on the floor, following their trail), I mixed some more essential oil into a bottle of spray cleaner and set to work on the floor.

The entry hall and kitchen remained ant-free for several hours. Before bed, I caught a few stragglers. Same this morning. And there were a few more this afternoon. I just checked again, and so far, so good. Added bonus: my house smells minty fresh.

I am cautiously giving this a Pinterest win. And if it is, indeed, a win, I shall be ordering a 55 gallon drum of peppermint oil.