A Poem - "Goodbye" and Red Hypoestes and Improved Ant Bait

 A Poem

Goodbye

 Goodbye my dear mustang,

My rugged bay pony built to withstand wind and snow

Always mindful of the need to survive.

Your mellow greetings still linger in the air,

Your rich throaty murmurings sing to my heart.

Memories of your beauty will always wave to me:

Your movement, your strength, your agility.

The little flycatchers will wonder where you've gone.

The robins will miss your shed fur for their nests.

My life is forever changed because of you.

Your life resounds in rippled waves across my world.

This red hypoestes (pink polka dot plant) has stayed nice and small over the winter.  Last summer it was on the back deck where it grew to about 10" tall.  I gave it a good prune and it kept its small form while it was on the cool windowsill for the winter. I'll put it in a bigger pot for the summer and it can be outside in a semi-shade location.

Every spring we have ants of various sizes.  I read somewhere that ants like trillium plants and we have lots of those so there are just a lot of ants in our environment.  Over the years, I have used borax/sugar mixes to keep them in check but last year I came across a brilliant improvement to my ant bait. The secret is a piece of Eggo waffle. In the picture, you can see that I took a plastic container and poked some holes near the brim.

Next I put a piece of Eggo waffle on the lid and pour over my equal parts borax/sugar mix that I have dissolved in some hot water.  Put the container bottom back on the lid. The waffle is like a sponge and the ants are happy to break off a little piece of the sweet treat to take home to the nest. Every so often add more borax/sugar solution to the waffle.

I might add that some ants prefer protein so peanut butter is a better bait for them, but my ants like sugar. 

You have to experiment to see what they like.