The Invasion of the Sugar Ants: They Contaminate Your Food and Spread Salmonella

My day started out like every other week day. My hubby before he went to work, left the makings of my breakfast on the kitchen table. My hands are very stiff and painful due to my Rheumatoid Arthritis especially in the morning, so my very kind husband leaves my juice poured, my tea water on low, and my Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl bread ready to be toasted.

On this particular morning, he left me a special treat, a box of Hostess powdered sugar donuts, a guilty pleasure we never resist when it's "buy one, get one free" at Publix.

As I explained, I have problems opening things, so hubby left the box of donuts partially opened. With my eyes focused on that morning's St. Pete Times newspaper, I reached into the box, grabbed a donut and took a bite.

Have you ever had that awful feeling that maybe you just saw something move, but you hope to heaven you didn't.? I looked down at the rest of my donut and it was covered with a mass of lively tiny, wiggly, little black ants. I grabbed my orange juice to wash out my mouth and saw another batch of the little bugs enjoying a swim.

I stuck my mouth and face under the kitchen faucet, threw out the donuts and juice, and tried to pull myself together. I looked at the kitchen table surface and saw more ants. They seemed to be getting in under the outside sliding glass door. I grabbed the nearest weapon at hand, a bottle of Windex, and drowned all that I could see.

It then occurred to me that I was probably dealing with the dreaded Florida "sugar ants" that I had heard my neighbors talk about. I never paid much attention because I consider myself an immaculate house keeper and I swear my kitchen is clean.

"Sugar ants" is a common name for tiny Pharoah ants or Argentine ants that like warm climates. They love sweets but will eat anything. They are hazardous as they can contaminate food and spread salmonella. There are horror stories of sugar ants infesting nursing homes and hospitals.

Living my entire life in Boston until 8 years ago, I don't recall ever being bothered by ants. I do remember my mother using something called "ant traps," little bottle caps filled with probably some kind of poison.

I try not to use poisons. I live by a golf course that sprays often to keep its greens green. Down the street is a cell tower disguised as a flag pole that probably bakes us continuously in radiation. There is enough poison already in my home.

All said, I want to avoid strong insecticides, so with information from neighbors and the internet I got some ideas. Here is a record of my progress so far.

Cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cayenne pepper and baby powder are said to keep the ants away. I tried most of these and the kitchen smelled nice, but the little buggers found a new route.

Most recommended was the Borax treatment. Borax is fatal to ants but not humans. Borax is a clothes washing product found in the detergent section of the store. When I put a box of it in my shopping cart several of my fellow Tampa shoppers came up to me and knew right away what the borax was for. They happily shared their sugar ant horror stories with me.

Recipes for the borax mixture include: 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar mixed with 2TB borax sprinkled around. The ants bring the mixture back to their nests, which slowly kills the other ants.

Another concoction is 1 ½ TB of borax mixed with 1TB mayonnaise, spread around. Keep all these mixtures away from children and pets.

White vinegar spray is also effective. In fact after using the first borax treatment and spraying and wiping the surfaces with white vinegar, the sugar ants seem to be gone.

I also learned to keep all kitchen surfaces clean and clear of crumbs and open containers of food. Vacuum or sweep the floor often. Empty the trash. Keep the sink and the garbage disposal dry and clean.

So far...so good. I really don't want to use that can of RAID I have stored away, if I don't have to.

Sources:

Personal experience
http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-sugar-ants.htm