Rhine versus the Ants

Ever read the short story "Leiningen versus the Ants" by Carl Stephenson? If you haven't, read it here. Like most short stories, it's rather disturbing. I read it back in high school and have been slightly freaked out by ants ever since. I also watched a documentary on siafu ants found in third world countries. They sometimes eat people who are sleeping or are too sick to fight them off (if I remember correctly). You can check out the Wikipedia article here if you want to read more about them (because if you're like me you have to research every single new piece of information that you come across). This documentary perpetuated my minor fear of ants.

Anyways, I'm taking on the ants in my kitchen. They attack at least once every year. It usually happens in late summer and early fall. I've already had one infestation. I conquered them with grits and ant bait. On Saturday, I came back from a short camping trip to another infestation in my kitchen. This one was worse than the last one. They actually made it off of the counters and onto the floor. I think they generally are encouraged to come when there are excessive heat and excessive dirty dishes. 

Yes, I will admit I didn't wash my dishes before my overnight camp-out. My mom will now give me a short lecture after reading this. I just ran out of time. Fun is sometimes more important than cleanliness. Anyways, my kitchen was primed for an ant invasion. So after cleaning my kitchen thoroughly, I covered the countertops with a combination of grits and cayenne pepper. I also set up my ant baits. I'm not sure if they have any bait left in them. We'll see what happens. If there are still ants crawling around by tomorrow morning, I'm moving on to stage 2 of the annihilation plan. This stage involves maple syrup and more ant baits. I refuse to end up like Leiningen!