It’s time to destroy the hive. We cannot coexist peacefully. I have tried in a diplomatic fashion to offer food and living space, but alas, the hive disregards my offers and terms. All the while the hive grows and expands. They have sent countless raids into my lower living courters, pillaging counter tops, health bars, bread crumbs, and cat food. Today the hive went to far: a raiding party has been spotted upstairs.
I fear for the safety of my partner, myself, and most importantly, I fear for the well being of our cats. Our smaller brethren house cats have been stung by these rude and ruthless red fire ants as well my partner and I. The hive is only interested in it’s own survival and all other organisms stand in their way of progress and growth. Now after weeks of idle talks and negotiations I most certainly will stand in their way. I was hoping they could peacefully live outside and I inside, but alas, that potential truce failed. Now I will stand until the hive is destroyed and no fire ant exist on our small lot of property. They must leave.
What Are Fire Ants?
Fire Ants are a small, stinging variety of ant native to South America. They were accidentally introduced to North America through the sea port in Mobile, Alabama in the 1930’s. These ants are more aggressive than other species. When alarmed, they swarm and sting anything that moves. Unlike other ants which bite then spay acid into the wound, fire ants bite to hold on and then repeatedly sting using their stinger located at the end of their abdomen. The sting feels like fire, thus the name “fire ant.” Fire Ant hives are typically located under an object or plant.
How It began (and the steps taken to detour Ants)
The story began weeks ago with the cat’s main food area downstairs invaded by these small, fearsome, logical creatures. The cat’s leave pieces of food fallen from their mouths around the area attracting the ants. A long ant train formed from our front door through the living space, through the kitchen to a far corner where the felines eat food.
To resolve this issue I placed the food dishes into a small sized purple litter box for protection. Placing the food trays inside a larger, six-inch tray helped mask the scent of dry meat cat food. In response to the apparent disappearance of the fire ants food source, they staged a daring invasion of my food cabinets and counter top (Tara and I have sectioned areas in the kitchen). They found pumpkin seeds. Through experience I have learned Ants preferred food are seeds. They swarmed my counter top to break-down the seed into smaller bites transporting the pieces back to their hive outside, who’s location was unknown at the time. After cleaning the countertop the Ants attempted to climb further into my storage cabinet where more seeds and health bars were located. I stopped them in their tracks using a detergent spray to erase their chemical sent trail that was left on the wall.
Unfortunately, the Ant’s found an old almond behind the refrigerator. I pulled the fridge out and knocked the almond around. Ant after little red Ant kept emerging from a hole bored into the nut. They made a hole then proceed to carve out the inside of the almond leaving only a thin skin as a reminder of what the almond looked like.
Since these locations are thirty feet from our front door - the entrance location for the Ants - they created three caches of food and outposts along their train route. The first outpost, communication center and food cache was located at their entrance hole. The others at apparent strategic areas throughout the downstairs. They followed the dark cement lines between the floor tiles. Several floor water mopping did not erase their chemical scent. Only when we used floor cleaning product did the Ant’s lose sight of their trail. Two days later the Ant train was reestablished to cat food crumbs in the kitchen area and to food crumbs left in the sink.
In desperation, I quickly attempted to seal off their entrance hole with cinnamon. While that did indeed work, the Ants simply rerouted to a new crack and hole in the door frame a day later. Then using a q-tip, I soaked the cotton tip in cinnamon oil and drew a line half-way around the door frame leaving the far section of the door frame bottom and side oil free. Cinnamon, whether in powdered or oil form disrupts Ants chemical scent trail when placed over it. It blinds them so to speak. Well, it took only twenty minutes for the Ant train to reroute around the oil cinnamon line to the far section of the door frame where, using a new crack, escaped outside. Therefore, I drew a cinnamon line over the entire door frame. The next day the Ant train was still in place transporting back new cat food crumbs to a new hole in our house, in a corner on the floor near the door. These are little holes I had no idea existed.
Despite the new, raised cat food tray, one cat, Nachos, scoops a large amount of food into his mouth and empties it onto the floor where he then eats the food piece by piece. The rest of the cat’s eat as expected within the food tray.
Interestingly, the Ants soon stopped using that new hole on the wall near the door. Soon, I realized why. The Ant’s made or found a new hole where the wall meets the floor right next to purple cat food container. This is an unreal, a living nightmare. The two cat food trays inside the container where swarming with Ants. I drew a line on the tile floor with cinnamon oil creating a circle of protection from Ant, removed the trays and systematically removed all the Ants from the food by blowing them off the tray rim and with a chop stick flicking the ants onto the floor where they wandered around aimlessly looking for the train trail. It took three and a half hours ant by little red fire ant. Something I learned is the Ants station soldiers within the food protecting it while the workers breakdown the food at the bottom of the tray. After all the Ant’s were removed I coated the rims of the food trays, the purple container as well at the Ant entrance with cinnamon oil so that this situation does not repeat itself.
In the meantime, the Ant’s have slowed down the train that leads into the sink where they find food scraps left inside the food disposer inside the sink drain. Meticulous cleaning and sealing of food seems to be paying off.
Sadly, the Ant’s were back in the food tray a few days later. Apparently, the Turkish Angora’s long mane fur either rubbed the cinnamon oil off or dirt from the fur laid on top of the oil creating a bridge for the Ant’s to cross. This time, instead of slowly and painfully removing the Ants from the food I simply placed the tray outside in hopes they will cease all invasive activities inside my home in favor of the easy access food outside. Not only did I just make the hive stronger by giving them a mound of dry cat food, the Ants continued their aggressive and hostile attempt to takeover my home.
In response to the latest cat food pillage, I choose to pour water inside the purple food tray and float the smaller food trays in the water effectively creating an uncrossable moat. (Note: the food trays don’t’ actually float. For if they did the trays may touch the side of the larger purple container creating an access point for the Ants into the cat food. The food trays rest in the middle of the water logged purple tray.) Moreover, I rubbed vasoline and coconut oil around the outside of the purple litterbox food tray twice in two different areas. As long as the vasoline is clean, Ant’s get stuck crossing it. But if it gets dirty, which it will inevitably will occur, the Ant’s will cross. Therefore, remove the old vasoline often and apply a new coat.
Several days have passed since the creation of the moat. It seems to be working. In the meantime, two important events have occurred. Today the Ant’s have sent a party upstairs. Several days ago the Ant hive, colony and nest has been located. It is on our front yard at the base of a tall grass plant.
During the last three weeks I have knowingly killed under 30 Ants accidentally. More Ants may have been killed underfoot while leaving the house and stepping on their train. By today however, the ant death took a dramatic and intentional spike upwards.
The Final Solution
The Ant’s need to be eliminated. Their hive must be destroyed. Otherwise, the Ant’s will attempt to take over our house since our home is the closest to the nest. I have poured three half-gallon pots of boiling water onto the hive as best I can for it is situated right under a bushy grass plant. This water contains some coffee grounds, fifteen drops of cinnamon oil, a tablespoon of ground cayenne pepper, salt, and natural soap. Hot water kills Ants, but is only a short-term, temporary solution. Caffeine in the coffee grounds poisons insects (and small animals), cinnamon disrupts Ant scent trails, cayenne pepper and salt are said to do the same (they likely serve only as a deterrent, not a true chemical disrupter like cinnamon), and the soap sticks to the Ant’s bodies suffocating them.
I will do this everyday. I will report back with updates.
Update: After three doses of cinnamon boiling water the Fire Ants were seen moving their eggs and pupils over the land. It appears they are transporting their kind from the outside section of the hive to an inner, more central location. Also, a larger Fire Ant with wings was spotted crawling over a rock near the nest. I squashed it. It was not large enough to be a queen I believe.
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