Ants in the Oatmeal

It's time to take a break from culturally enlightening and educationally informative input. I'll write about the Introduction Ceremony later.

This morning Bry'Chell found ants in the oatmeal. Now, this isn't a surprise. We find ants everywhere all the time. At first, I had visions of Ant Bully going through my head every time I wiped out a line of ants. Now I don't.

I've tried to appreciate the ants. They're very efficient. They can completely dismantle a dead bug or crumb overnight. By the next morning the offending mass has completely disappeared along with the ant work crew. They're great team players.

My appreciation has worn thin. Ants apply this same principle of efficiency to anything they can attack in the pantry. Even Zip-Lock bags sometimes fail the test. I've seen ants wiggle through the zip part of Zip-Lock. I don't know if the zipper was not fastened securely or if the little buggers managed to loosen the seal or what, but they manage to get through somehow.

I've been on-line to find out how to get rid of ants. Maybe vinegar works in the US, but Ugandan ants must be of sturdier stock, because it only slows them down for an hour or two. My next step is to get my hands on some boric acid. I know it works for roaches. According to the web page I checked, the same principle applies to ants.

Back to the oatmeal. Bry'Chell was really disgusted to find ants in one of her favorite breakfast ingredients (eggs being her other favorite). I wasn't going to throw away a whole bag of oatmeal just because of a few ants. I went through the bag, and cleared out the ones I found then I made oatmeal muffins. I think I got all the ants. If not, oh well, the muffins have a little extra protein.