If you've been reading recent posts, you know Mom's cat Stick Tail has moved in with us. We call his dining area the "food bar." From the picture, you can guess why. When Stick's hungry, he heads on over to check things out. If things aren't to his liking, he'll lie down and pray to the food gods for something better.At the cabin, Stick's food bar had unwanted visitors - ANTS! I've seen a few on the sink, but a squish and the problem was solved. But with an endless supply of treats at the food bar, they wouldn't stop coming.
I remembered reading a post at a blog I used to follow called Pacy Crochets. She doesn't blog any more, but does have a Pinterest site. I bought the Castile peppermint soap. I was skeptical, but didn't want to put ant poison near Stick's food (or ours). Because of the location, I just rubbed a little soap along the edge of the wall and by the stove. I did this for three days, and no more ants. Because it's the odour that deters the ants (and mice as well), I will probably have to do it over again when we return to the cabin. But no problem, the soap goes a long way and it smells nice. Well, at least to kitties and humans. I'll also make some spray to use outdoors for good measure.1 gallon water
4 tablespoons Castile peppermint soap
Thanks Pacy for the great tip. -- Margy
What a great idea, though I don't have ants (knock on wood) but good to know in case I ever have that problem. So do the ants come marching along on the walkways over the water to your float house? They must be very determined ants.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! Will look for some as we get a lot of ants.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know what will keep ants away.
ReplyDeleteI like this idea!!! Thanks for sharing, and I'm so glad Stick Tail doesn't have battle crawling things for his dinner!
ReplyDelete...or you guys for that matter, LOL!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for stopping by and commenting. I'll try using the spray version next time I'm at the cabin and let you know how it works. But on my floor (painted plywood), it works fine straight out of the bottle.
ReplyDeleteJoAnn - I'm not sure where they are coming from. I thought maybe they were in some of my pots on the deck, but I haven't seen any of them there when I've been working in the soil. You are right, they must be pretty determined to get all the way out to my kitchen.
Margy
What a great idea and it's not poison, I like that.Thanks,
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Good idea. Our ants are back, too!
ReplyDelete