Yesterday was quite warm for Minnesota so I took the dogs on a walk to the local lake. [link]

So pretty!

Beautiful, Gud.

Susan, do you still live in the Greenwood/Phinney Ridge area? We learned that there's a HUGE ant colony that spans those two entire neighborhoods.

No, we're toward the Northgate end of Maple Leaf now, but from what our neighbors have said we're definitely not alone in our ant problems.

We used to get ants every spring. Terro ant bait was a quick and adequate solution.

One spring my cat alerted me to the presence of ants. She came and bit me on the foot--her tack for getting me to follow her--and ran to the bathroom, looking back to make sure I was following. There, she looked at the trail of ants climbing up the wall into the sink, and pawed gingerly at the line of ants and looked up at me. "Look lady, I take care of the rare wee mice, and the big beetles and the cave crickets and the flying beasties. I figure it's work for pay, right? But these (another touch of a paw) these are too little--and too many. I can't do it, man, they just run away and there's more of them, and they *bite*. I give up. Your turn."

I told her she was right, that she was a good hunter and we appreciated her service, but these were definitely too little and too many for her skills, and I'd take care of it. Ant Terro to the rescue.

Pix, I'm so glad things have worked out with J. Wishing him all luck going forward. And you and ND too, of course!

Gud, thanks for sharing the pictures. They're beautiful.

I hope the cortisone helps, Laura. I may tackle my GP about that treatment if it works for you. My right hip and lower back are determined to prevent my getting things done--and exercize so far is not helping.

We have The Ants. Ugh. The teeny tiny ones, and damn those things are fast.

"Look lady, I take care of the rare wee mice, and the big beetles and the cave crickets and the flying beasties. I figure it's work for pay, right? But these (another touch of a paw) these are too little--and too many. I can't do it, man, they just run away and there's more of them, and they *bite*. I give up. Your turn."

What a good hunter!

We're blessedly ant free though I do need to get the exterminator in as the work on the back stairs has stirred up some mice.

We typically only got ants in the other apartment when there were heavy rains.

Blue sky day in San Francisco! Almost done with February. Guess I better pay the mortgage.

In Missouri, I used Ortho Home Defense around the perimeter of the house and placed Terro outdoor bait traps outside the area I sprayed and it seemed to help with the ants which could get quite bad at times.

The tero bait usually works but it’s hard to place it where the dog can’t get at it.

Yeah, I didn't put it in the backyard where the dogs were. The hot spot was the side of the house where I could place the bait without worrying about them.