Life is predictable, more or less. Some inevitabilities come only once to humans, like birth and death, and some come yearly, like taxes. We seem to like predictability, knowing that the days grow longer and warmer in summer, for instance. The apples develop on the trees, and then some of them fall off in the June apple drop. On the first day of school in September, they are ready to eat or to present to the teacher. Another predictable visit from nature around here is the advent of the little ants.
Today the little ants have finally arrived at my doorstep, about 10 days late this year. In 2011 and 2013 at least, they arrived on June 1 (I keep a garden book: the "cottonwood snow" is early this year; sea temperature is warmer; the Kalmia blossomed earlier; a particular azalea bloomed later than usual). Each time of year is accompanied by several more or less predictable nature happenings. Rhubarb crisp is followed by strawberry shortcake; blackberry jam is followed by blueberry pie.
Charlotte the spider weaves her web; in the fall she leaves an egg sac; in the spring the baby orb spiders float out to their new locations (this happened the other day) on the same breezes that distribute the cottonwood snow, carrying their seed to every crack and cranny where seedlings might develop.
However, humans who like a clean kitchen are not thrilled with ants. The first thing to remember is that they are temporary. The second thing is that they are not nuclear weapons, but very tiny insects (these are not the big, stinging fire ants, or nasty termites, but tiny little things about the size of the letter i in your email). Although there are a lot of them, they all behave similarly and can be managed for the short time they are visiting. The good thing about zillions of ants is that they feed the lovely birds such as the red-shafted flickers (so common around here!) Ants farm aphids. Lady beetles eat aphids. I know from several years of not using chemical weapons against ants outside that the apple trees still produce enough apples even though the ants and aphids tend to congregate on the leaf tips.
However, back to the kitchen door. Predictability of ants: they like to walk in the door in the same place every year. Predictability of humans: I like to minimize the problem by setting out "offerings", otherwise known as ant traps. Ants, like most animals, love food, especially sweet stuff. Ants, like most life forms, do not like an over-abundnce of dry desert minerals concentrated in sodium or with basic pH: for instance, salt (NaCl), baking soda (NaHCO3), or sodium tetraborate (Na2B4O7.10H2O), otherwise known as "borax".
So if you want to "control" how many ants come into your house, trick them into eating something sweet mixed with something sodic. I use a teaspoon of jam mixed with a teaspoon of borax placed on a canning jar lid, a tin can lid, or a clamshell (easily composted when full of dead ants). Put it by the door, right in the path of the marching ants. The ants approach and eat. Then they drop dead or blunder off. It slows down the marching line of ants considerably. If you don't have any jam, use powdered or granulated sugar, plus borax. Or try sugar plus baking soda.
Likewise, if you are an open-water swimmer, red algae bloom at this time of year in English Bay. Another predictable nature thing not to freak out about. Brown crud gets all over you while swimming. Big deal. Wash it off. In a week or two the water clears up again. Brown algae in June usually signifies that the water is warm enough to swim in!
Have a nice summer!
Jennifer Getsinger
June 11, 2014
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