In Winnipeg we deal with mosquitos. Those pesty little bugs are everywhere in the summer, sucking the blood out of its victims despite the constantly swatting at them. They are persistent and annoying. We do not really see many mosquitos here and are happy about that. BUT...
Instead we have ants. Ants are everywhere, and they should not be. They should be outside. But, in tropical, hot climates they always seem to find their way inside...much to a home owners chagrin. I have to be honest and say that for some reason I did not expect ants to be an issue in Egypt. My thought process was...it is hot, and it is a desert, there cannot possibly be ants everywhere...but oh, there are so many ants.
I remember when I was in Florida for Missions Training Program. The girls dorm was overrun by ants to the point that the directors had to put ant bombs in the dorm to eliminate them. They were climbing all over everything, towels, clothes...and heaven forbid if there was food in the room. After the ant bombing however, things returned to normal and all was well.
We have had some days where there have been thousands of ants climbing the walls in the bathroom, the sink in the kitchen or the stove. We wish we would have known because we would have brought ant traps from home (they are very hard to come by here) and we want to stay away from using chemicals like Raid because of the kids. HOWEVER...
One night I made crepes. They were absolutely delicious and they were almost all eaten...and then we fell asleep watching a movie and stumbled to bed in a half awake state. Come morning we had a major problem. As you probably have guessed we had some visitors in the kitchen. Thousands of them actually...and these guests were definitely not welcomed in our home. So, hubby took care of them with some Raid like product. He followed their lineup from the crepes, down the cupboards, along the baseboards and into this teeny tiny little hole and carefully avoided any food areas. I am glad to say that since then we have seen very few ants...but ant season is just around the corner.
So, we went from mosquitos to ants...I am not sure which are worse, but the little black ants do not bite which is nice. They are just irritating to clean up. Needless to say we have learned quickly that we cannot leave anything out, ALL crumbs must be picked up immediately (and this is easier said than done with toddlers around) and wash the dishes immediately. That way, the ants have no reason to look around. Now, I have heard that cockroaches also like to hang around occasionally throughout the year. They certainly would not be welcome visitors here...thankfully the only ones I have seen so far are the type that I like. On their backs with their legs in the air, drying out in the sunshine! I hope that is the only way I have to see them...they certainly are not attractive creatures.
Instead we have ants. Ants are everywhere, and they should not be. They should be outside. But, in tropical, hot climates they always seem to find their way inside...much to a home owners chagrin. I have to be honest and say that for some reason I did not expect ants to be an issue in Egypt. My thought process was...it is hot, and it is a desert, there cannot possibly be ants everywhere...but oh, there are so many ants.
I remember when I was in Florida for Missions Training Program. The girls dorm was overrun by ants to the point that the directors had to put ant bombs in the dorm to eliminate them. They were climbing all over everything, towels, clothes...and heaven forbid if there was food in the room. After the ant bombing however, things returned to normal and all was well.
We have had some days where there have been thousands of ants climbing the walls in the bathroom, the sink in the kitchen or the stove. We wish we would have known because we would have brought ant traps from home (they are very hard to come by here) and we want to stay away from using chemicals like Raid because of the kids. HOWEVER...
One night I made crepes. They were absolutely delicious and they were almost all eaten...and then we fell asleep watching a movie and stumbled to bed in a half awake state. Come morning we had a major problem. As you probably have guessed we had some visitors in the kitchen. Thousands of them actually...and these guests were definitely not welcomed in our home. So, hubby took care of them with some Raid like product. He followed their lineup from the crepes, down the cupboards, along the baseboards and into this teeny tiny little hole and carefully avoided any food areas. I am glad to say that since then we have seen very few ants...but ant season is just around the corner.
So, we went from mosquitos to ants...I am not sure which are worse, but the little black ants do not bite which is nice. They are just irritating to clean up. Needless to say we have learned quickly that we cannot leave anything out, ALL crumbs must be picked up immediately (and this is easier said than done with toddlers around) and wash the dishes immediately. That way, the ants have no reason to look around. Now, I have heard that cockroaches also like to hang around occasionally throughout the year. They certainly would not be welcome visitors here...thankfully the only ones I have seen so far are the type that I like. On their backs with their legs in the air, drying out in the sunshine! I hope that is the only way I have to see them...they certainly are not attractive creatures.
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