We have had warm weather the last few days which has really helped in melting the the
large snowfall we had last week. In some places we're actually starting to see the ground. All of this melting snow has helped bring some of the outdoors in--meaning we have swarming ants in our basement. Normally, I don't mind a few bugs in the house, but this is just too many. We're still working on getting rid of them.
Most of my Second Look has been done through the windows again, so it involves birds and squirrels. The excitement this week came from a Northern Flicker visit. I don't remember ever seeing one at my house even though they are not a rare bird. Disappointingly, it hasn't returned.
Here are a few things I saw this week
during a Second Look.
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| Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker |
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| Crow |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Male Cardinal |
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| Turkey Vulture |
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| Gray Squirrel |
How did the squirrel get in there? Anything for a snack ...
ReplyDeleteWe've been having snow melt, too, but no ants, thank goodness. I'm not fond of bugs in the house.
I had seen the squirrel stick its head in to get seeds, but I'm not sure how this happened. I only saw the results, not the process.
DeleteI'm wondering the same thing as Kris... and how did he get out?
ReplyDeleteI had a real problem with ants in the basement at one point... made worse by the fact that I had a kitty living down there, and they were feasting on her food. I finally had to just go crazy caulking up every possible joint or crack in the concrete basement walls - that paired with moving her food to a less ant accessible place helped.
Apparently when they walk they leave some sort of trail that the other ones follow - pheromones maybe? So one ant can often lead to many, MANY more. Anyhow, at this point if I see even one ant down there, I don't wait - I remove it, try to find where it got in, seal it up, and then clean the entire area with an enzyme based cleaner to destroy the trail! Good luck dealing with the little suckers!
I'm not sure how it got out, but squirrels are very nimble. I watched it for a while to see how it was going to manage, but finally I had to go to work. But it was gone the next time I looked.
DeleteWe have a spring ant season around here where we have ants in the house for a couple of weeks, then they're gone. I don't get too excited about that unless they're in our food. However, these are flying ants and are swarming in great numbers where we've never had them before. So far, they haven't found the cat food but it's only a matter of time. I'm not looking forward to mopping my entire basement in enzyme liquid, but we'll do what we have to do.
Yikes! I've never even heard of flying ants, and I have no idea if they work the same way as the tiny crawling variety. I often get swarms of the little red ones in my driveway, but I think I'd freak out if they got in my house regularly. Good luck!
DeleteYou usually don't see them. It's a stage they go through when they are going to mate. I have seen them outside do this, but never in my house. The worst ants to have in your house are fire ants which we would occasionally get in Houston. They bite and bite and bite, again and again. And it's very painful. So they are more than a nuisance.
DeleteSo much for squirrel proof bird feeders. :-) I would love to know how it got in there that's one determined, or maybe just hungry squirrel.
ReplyDeleteSorry you are having problems with ants hope you solve that soon, me it's fruit flies from bananas my kids brought over. I think I'm the only one with fruit flies in the winter.
Nope, we get them too.
DeleteHmmm, I don't remember fruit flies in the winter and I have some pretty ripe bananas on the counter right now. And the squirrel can't be hungry with as much suet that it's been eating.
DeleteLois, it looks like there have been problems with your blog. Is that true?
I so much enjoy those photos of birds in the snow, the color of the birds against the white background. That strutting crow. The Goldfinch. The Flicker and how in the world, with that squirrel in the feeder!!!
ReplyDeleteAlthough not as colorful as the others, I think I like the strutting crow picture the best.
DeleteI know you aid once before you lived in Louisiana for a bit so you probably remember those gigantic Palmetto bugs which live outside but start creeping in when the weather is cold, I can't stand them!
ReplyDeleteOh, my. I have a lot of stories about Palmetto bugs. I remember them well.
DeleteYou are such an awesome photographer. I'm too slow to take pictures that fast.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that fast either and the settings on the camera that are supposed to take pictures of something in motion, don't work anymore.
DeleteSo those birds have to hold still for a while for me to focus on them and take a picture. Luckily, for me, they do that sometimes.