A Hoard of Formicidae

June, wonderful June, the month of my birth, the definition of summer, the  promise fulfilled that winter will end.  Persephone, the vegetation goddess, has come up from her cruel husband, Hades, from her underworld home to spread seeds of hope and revitalization in her suddenly bright world.

I think of spring and early summer as a joyous time.  Unlike some, I don't worry about the hot months to come - bring them on!  I'll take them over freezing January and February any time.

Ants on Cotton Ball

Summer brings other things which, if you are caught unawares, will wreak havoc in you kitchen, bedroom - all  over your house.  They are armies on the march searching for any sweet treasure they can filch, and their appetites are insatiable.  This little army is marching across my window sill just above my computer, and I must fight it, and I have discovered a weapon that I will share with you.

Ants belong to the family, Formicidae, but I have no idea what species these that march across my window sill are.  I grew up calling all tiny ants "pissants," a word from the 14th century which has been corrupted into, "piss ant."  The former word had no relation to urine, but someone put a space between the syllables and it stuck.

 Over the years I have tried about everything available to kill ants and haven't found anything that did the job.  Yes, it discouraged them if I sprayed around all doors and windows, but they would come back with a vengeance when the poison wore off.  So I did some research.

I had heard that boric acid mixed with sugar and water would actually kill them, so I tried it.  I mixed a teaspoon of boric acid (Twenty Mule Team Borax, the laundry additive, to be exact) with five teaspoons of sugar in a quarter of a cup of water and then soaked a cotton ball in it.  I squeezed most of it out and set it on the window sill.

As you can see in the photos, they were drawn to it like I am drawn to blackberry patches in July.  I never actually saw any dead ants, but they were gone the next day, and I assume they had carried some of this ambrosia back to the queen to get on her good side and as a result, destroyed a dynasty.  Good riddance.