War On TerrorAnts

I hate ants.

They're ALL OVER, most particularly because it rained the other night, and when it rains, OH LORD, here come the idiot ants. 

So I get up in the morning and my kitchen has a merry trail of ants, coming and going from the recycling container and trash container. 

Awesome. 

I'm sick to death of this. They've invaded behind the stove, in the pantry, the bathroom linen closet (???), and now they're coming in under the freezer. 

I went to Home Depot. Got more Ant Death In a Bottle. Declared absolute war on them with a  hose-attached spray. Carefully read the directions to find that the spray is highly toxic to bees.

I like bees. 

No interest in killing the bees. 

I relate this fact to Doug, as we're standing outside. "Well, there aren't that many bees out this early," he says authoritatively. "It shouldn't really affect them."

I look down at his feet, as he's standing in a patch of sparsely-blooming clover.

"Don't step on the bee," I warn him.

"Oh!" he says, looking down. "Well...OK, maybe." 

He went back inside. Something about working from home and letting him know what's going on when I figure it out. 

I wasn't entirely stupid at Home Depot. I also got two tubes of outdoor caulk made for siding, which have a 35-year guarantee. 

Using a little cosmetic mirror, a roll of paper towels, a putty knife, a tube of caulk and a caulking gun, I got to work. By laying the mirror on the ground, I could see the gap between the siding and the concrete footing of the house. I used the caulk to fill up that gap, the putty knife to make sure it got stuffed INTO the crack, and then smoothed it out a little with the paper towels. I got about five feet of it done in the worst-offending area; it left a little crowd of black ants running around confused on the concrete, so....maybe? 

Major thunderstorm warnings tonight; lots of rain and thunder and threats of hail.