In 2013 our family excitedly packed up the house and headed to Germany for a Family Vacation.
It was a two week vacation-spent visiting my husband’s family, attending a wedding and visiting so many beautiful sights.
Too bad this post really has nothing to do with that trip…
When we arrived home in the middle of the night- exhausted from several flight delays, a frustrating luggage delay – a drive from Pearson International Airport all the way back to Stoney Creek with two young, jet lagged children… all we wanted was our beds.
My husband opened the house, turned on the lights and we groggily dragged our luggage into the house…
Bed… We want bed….We wan……WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??
There was a solid distinct line heading from the inside garage door- down the dark wooden hallway….pebbled with crumbs and other food debris.
Upon closer inspection- The line was moving!! It was an army of ants!!!! I followed the disgusting line down the hallway and it turned, leading me into the kitchen- where there were several more lines.. one leading under my stove, another under the fridge and one into my pantry.
MOTHER FUUU….eh…well you get the sentiment.
I opened the door to my pantry and there were ants everywhere.
I was so grossed out.
I was so tired.
We quickly dealt with the little crumb thieves but this led to me having to toss out half the food and flour in my pantry- and I started keeping my baking supplies in a special tub- sealed from future ant attacks.
After this I always make sure that I prepare a home for our longer trips- so this never happens again.
I always try to do the following before a long trip where the house will be vacant.
- Vacuum and sweep up everything I can- Including the baseboards.
- Mop the floors (I have been known to mop us out of the house from time to time)
- Lay ant traps EVERYWHERE.
- Make sure the garbage is outside and sealed tight.
- Make sure containers are sealed and ants have no access to food.
In our new home- Ants have been a bit of a nuisance in the basement during the summer- so much so that from Spring until Fall I have to move the dog food/dish to our upstairs kitchen where we never see ants. We have traps hidden everywhere downstairs to combat this problem and for the most part they work.
We were gone most of July- so before we left- I went through my ‘No Ants’ checklist to make sure that they didn’t find themselves in my upstairs kitchen. I wasn’t taking any chances. This was to be the longest period of time this house has been left without human occupants (I am sure the ghost loved the downtime) and I wasn’t about to come home to find the entire outdoor population of ants had moved inside.
My house looked pretty good when I left. I was actually looking forward to being able to come home and be able to just turn key and only have to worry about basics- like unpacking, doing laundry… (and the kitchen renovation) ….I thought it would be a breeze.
After unloading the car- I started walking around the house to discover that we had no ants…
Hooray!
My joy was short lived.
Ants were not my problem…
But Spiders?
Yeah… those bastards had set up shop!!
I could not believe it! We had only been gone, just over two and a half weeks and we had spiders everywhere!!!
Every corner, all along the baseboards, living in the bathtub…even in our wardrobes!
Scurrying across the floors… In the drapes…the light fixtures!
SON OF A…..
We get the odd spiders. When we moved into this home- they were everywhere… OUTSIDE. For the first month we lived in this home- you couldn’t even walk onto the deck without walking into spiderwebs. It was disgusting.
It’s been two years since we have moved in. They quickly scurried off when it became apparent that we would keep tearing their webs down. We have a few bushes in the front yard that they like to hang out in- but as long as they are not in my path.. I don’t care. Sure you have a daddy long legs here and there on the inside- especially in the basement- but that happens.
What I came home to at the start of August was ridiculous!
I lost count!
Those eight legged monsters decided to inhabit our empty home! It was like they had decided to reclaim what was rightfully theirs!
Oh hell no…
Instead of putting my feet up and starting on the laundry like I typically do after a long drive- I grabbed the vacuum and went to town vacuuming up their webs- cackling as they were sucked into the funnel.
“It’s MY house you creepy little jerks!!”
I spent two hours tackling every room- every baseboard, every webby corner I could find…
I was getting my revenge.
Of course a few days later- I went to walk into my garage with a recycling bin and walked straight into a thick web! Alternating, kicking and dancing while ripping sticky web strands off me. I ran into the house, stripped naked and ran into the shower- scrubbing hard.
EW EW EW EW EW!!
I maintain they did it on purpose- their revenge for the great spider massacre of 2017!
My clothes went straight into the laundry to wash…
….Where I noticed more spiders dangling above the water heater….
I’m paranoid now.
I expect the tarantulas to show up at any moment to assist the daddy long legs and those tiny jumpy striped things…
Who knew I would miss my Ant battles?
Friends have instructed me to spray mint essential oil around the corners of the house, by windows and doors- This is on my list of things to try. I just keep forgetting to buy the mint oil.
In the meantime- I feel like every single day I am having to pull out my vacuum, dust buster and steam mop. These little bums seem to show up every morning in new places. They’re busy when we sleep…
My story has all the makings of a Disney movie… though I am pretty sure if it was a cartoon feature- that I would be the evil human villain and the spiders are the heroes in this tale.
And you know what?
I can live with that.
Do you have any tips and tricks to ridding the house of spiders? Drop ’em in the comments!
Post Inspired By Daily Word Prompt: Inhabit
They Once Called Her Pumpkin... 