Every spring, the ants return to the kitchen. Living so near the forest, we’re used to all kinds of welcomed insects and even an occasional playful field mouse visiting, but ants in the kitchen drive me crazy.
Not in my kitchen!
I’ve been reading about a quick, pleasant, cost-effective, and natural way to rid your house of ants. I’m a skeptic, normally, but this time, I read of how peppermint oil masks an ant’s trail pheromones and inhibits their social communication, so they leave. They go elsewhere immediately to locations where they can communicate about food.
It sounds like science. It sounds like something I must try.
I can’t believe it.
The ants leave by afternoon. They haven’t returned.
I simply sprayed the peppermint oil and water combination on my counters, around the baseboards, and under my sink. No ants. And, strangely, no ladybugs, no spiders, and no other forest insects.
I think about the wonder of ants and the unseen communication by pheromones. How much else is happening that I cannot see and know nothing about? How much more can I learn in this amazing world?
Meanwhile, my house smells like a candy cane.
And I’m off to read more about trail pheromones.