'There's an ant in my stew.' My middle daughter said yesterday evening. Funnily enought, she's always the one that gets the fish bone, the maggot in the mango - you name it.
'Nonsense,' I said firmly.
'Yes there is - look!' She insisted, proffering her fork.
'Let me have a look.' I said, studying said fork. She was right; it was an ant.
While making my husband's birthday cake this morning (and the prize for wife of the year award goes to...!) I discovered to my dismay that the sugar ants have indeed now found my secret 'ant proof' hiding place on top of the microwave. The softened butter was riddled with the menaces. What is it about butter that they love so much. Some had tiny wriggling back legs, head stuffed in the butter with no hope of getting out again. A suicide mission! - and for now, curiously, they are leaving my sugar bowl well alone.
Tonight there may well be complaining comments about ants in the cake - but I'm willing to brazen it out..
The diary of a British expat living in Kenya. News, views, debate and a healthy dose of trivia.
Could be worse. Could be those nasty red army ants. As a little girl I sat in a line of red army ants somewhere between your house and the little house that used to sit next door. Funny how they all bite at once. OUCH!!!
ReplyDeleteMom says a ring of ash around your house will stop ants. Apparently, they don't like to cross ash. I'm sure that wisdom came from dealing with the ants you are now at war with.
As much as winter is a hardship here in Canada, it does stop all insects for a period of time. No bugs of any kind ;o)
Thanks so much for the comment! I know those biting ants or saifu! So lucky we haven't been invaded by those yet! I can just imagine you sitting in the garden as a little girl!
ReplyDeleteHope you saw the photos of the new swimming pool earlier in the the blog. Hate to admit it, but we are absolutely loving it and feel spoiled rotten now it's there! Especially since it's hot here too - was 32 on Monday! Newspapers said it was the hottest day on record in Nairobi for years - if not, ever?!!
I live in California, and we get this chinese chalk that yuo draw line with, the ants aviod the chalk. Someone told me they don't like chalk that is used for blackboards. Worth a try.
ReplyDeletewhen i live in western kenya ants used to form a single file and invade our home, so many of them, but there is a plant im sorry i cant remember the name--its some tribal word anyway but ask around--what we used to do was beat the stalks ofthe plant around the verandah and some how the ants smell the scent and they give the house a wide berth for two or three days if they were headed to the house. also you may wanna buy the plastic containers and put sugar, flour etc in them and then close them with tigh lids. geckos escape the heat from outside so really there is nothing you can do maybe a buy a cat to really whack them. buying some ant repellant may not really help. if its the invading army that forms a single long long file into the compound, ask a local most probably a kisii tribesman and they will get you the plant--oh called "omotiokia". its a garden weed and very abundant and effective.
ReplyDeletepeculiar kenyan