Ants Carry Death Home

We had problems with ants a few months ago in our premises. Small armies of ants had invaded our workspaces and made several nests in impossible places. Soon, any foodstuff not secured properly attracted these critters and made them unpalatable. Even Bablu, our resident cat had a problem as these ants invaded her food bowl. We had to resort to placing her bowl within a larger bowl filled with water as she has the habit of not finishing her food all at once.

Using contact and aerosol insecticides was out of the question. One potential problem using aerosols means air-borne insecticide will land on the surfaces of the water in the aquariums. Contact insecticides were considered but not used as we were also concerned that toxic fumes given off would be drawn into the air pumps and into the tanks. Personally, I do not react well to aerosol fumes too.

This problem became serious when they invaded the mealworm racks and dented the larvae and pupae populations. We had to do something to eliminate these ants. Keeping the premises as clean as we could had not improved the circumstances. An effective measure had to be found.

We found a very effective solution in the form of a grainy powder in a sachet. Instructions were to place this grainy powder into the path of active ant trials. The powder has nutritional value to the ants but it is laced with slow-action poisons who do not kill the ants immediately. Foraging ants will carry this back to their impossibly out-of reach nests where they will feed it to the rest of the ant community including the queen herself. In a few days, any insects which had consumed this powder will expire and the results can only be seen a few days later but the results are remarkable and long-term. The powder was also not easily blown off as we were concerned that they could land inside the aquariums.

We started by locating several ant trials at arm's level as the powder had to placed out of reach of the cat as well. Various locations were plug-point boxes, window ledges and shelves. We used three sachets for the whole premises and one sachet for the mealworm racks. The disposal bag was emptied and cleaned out, and another sachet with contents poured into the bag. It was that simple. Within a few minutes, ants started to cart death home.

A few days later, results were very encouraging. Most of the grainy powder had disappeared and we could now see a few dead ants outside the impossible-to-reach nest later. A week later, most ant activities were not seen and we had also not seen any cockroaches for quite sometime since we had used this method.

This product works very well. We thought that some of you folks out there might have the same problems we had, and might be looking for an effective and inexpensive methods to overcome insect infestation in your homes or workplaces. This effective product is USD2.95 for six sachets (before postage). Do drop us an email if you do. Otherwise, you can visit http://www.mudah.my/ecologicord (Under 'Home & Garden') to order there.

 

Microworms

Extracting most of your microworm culture

How do you extract up to 98% of your expiring microworm culture(s) and have as little wastage(s) as possible? It's easy when you have the correct tools and method. Many writers have offered ideas ranging from a stack of matchsticks, a piece of cotton cloth, coffee filter to placing them on top of a warmer.

We had a field day, trying out these methods without much success, not to mentioned that it could be messy too. Now I don't know about you folks out there but I hate cleaning up funky-smelling messes and not having much to show for it. Now if you have been following my earlier microworm discussions, you know by now we love the K.I.S.S. principle. And you'll know by the end of this discussion why we only use bread flour or all-purpose flour.


You'll need the following;

Note: All food-contact equipment should not be used for human or other pet (dog, cat, bird etc) food production.All utensils should be free of oily deposits.

1. Your expiring microworm culture(s) which should have a funky smell by now. If they have a foul, evil smell, discard it. It's poison.
2. A 306-stainless steel micro-mesh mounted on a ring and handle. You can also buy this item from us for USD1.50 (Before postage). Just drop us an email or visit us at www.mudah.my/ecologicord (under 'Pets' catalogy).
3. A dinner spoon.

Fill up halfway of the culture container with clean, conditioned water. Stir up the contents with a spoon thoroughly. Place the micro-mesh strainer over a slow-flowing tap and slowly pour the contents of the container into the micro-mesh. Do not let it overflow. Because bread and all-purpose flours do not contain large particles, they will be easily flushed through the micro-mesh. This leaves only the microworms trapped on the mesh. 

Continue to rinse the micro-mesh under running water until all traces of flour is gone. You will now be able to see a mat of clean menatode(s) on the micro-mesh. They can now be fed directly to the fishes. After you have finished, clean up the micro-mesh with a soft sponge, hand it up to air-dry for the next use. It works every time. No waste! Hurra!