Thursday 25 March 2010

Pests and pet

We've been plagued by ants lately. Everyday, I return home to find a trail of ants marching across the kitchen floor. They crawl up the wall and invade my living room too. They're everywhere!

I'm against killing ants because they're not all that pesky but I surrendered and bought a pack of ant killer that day. They are supposed to work this way: Ants feed from the bait and the contaminated ants carry the bait back to the nest, killing the queen and the nest.

I laid the small discs, which contain little granules, in their favourite hangouts. They must be quite delicious because the ants started congregating at the disc. I felt a pang of guilt and decided not to look at them partying away.

Rusty must have been attracted to the disc on the kitchen floor because he started having stomach troubles yesterday. I went home to find the balcony door open and pools of vomit in the patio. That smart fella had used his little snout to open the sliding doors (mind you, they're heavy!) so that he could go outside to throw up in the garden.

There was a pile of vomit in the house as well but that poor thing must have felt really unwell, he completely lost his appetite. And he had the runs when I walked him yesterday. He's fine now and is back to his greedy self.

CH thinks it's the shishamo (grilled fish) we fed him that night. I suspect it has everything to do with the ant bait. He must have eaten the small granules that fell out from the plastic disc. I feel terrible that I had completely overlooked and allowed my dog to be (mildy) poisoned.

Oh well. I've been told that Rusty is getting too chubby, maybe he'll lose a few grams from this ordeal.

4 comments:

JY69 said...

hate ants! better than roaches...but dislike anything that has more legs and body parts than your average housepet!

The Real Mother Hen said...

I'd say it's the salmon.
Oh wait, dogs can't eat raw/smoke wild salmon and other anadromous fish (fish that swim upstream to breed), but in Singapore they sell only farm salmon, hhmmm, farmed ones are probably ok, but still, best to stay away from the fish for the time being. Dogs are the only species susceptible to salmon/ anadromous fish poisoning, so playing safe is better.

huier said...

Perhaps due to the weather... I noticed more ants tend to appear during rainy season. Here's a old folks tale - ants bring good fortune! (even my partner believes in it)

auntielucia said...

Hi Blur, sori that u tried to kill the ants but poor Rusty got hit as well.

Think one reason ants appear (apart fm the weather) is that sometimes we unknowingly leave trace food or smells, on floors or counters etc and that attracts them.

I find begging them aloud to go away -- eg "pse go away asap or I'd be foreced to kill the whole lot of u" -- can work wonders.

And of cos, try to wipe counter surfaces and floors thoroughly, so that nothing attracts them.

Have a gd week!

Chowmahalla Palace

During our week in Hyderabad, some of the places we visited include the Mecca Mosque, the Charminar (the icon of Hyderabad), Sufi Shrine, Bi...