Ants, Ants, Ants...In Winter??

It's not even spring yet we are battling ants already.  YUCK!  I've been digging around the internet.  My least favorite find was "likely infestation" or "nest in the house".  My favorite (in relative terms) was at ehow.com.  Here's the meat of it...I'll let  you know!

1. Mix 2 cups of vinegar with half a bucket of warm water. Pour some of your vinegar solution into a spray bottle.
   
2. Soak a clean cloth in the diluted vinegar solution, then squeeze out the excess. Use the vinegar-dampened cloth to wipe down kitchen countertops, the inside and outside of kitchen cabinets and the exterior of your kitchen appliances. If ants have been spotted in any other rooms of the house, wipe down hard-surfaced and non-upholstered furniture in the infested rooms, as well as hardwood or tile floors, with the vinegar solution to repel ants.
   
3. Clean your floor with an ingredient that also repels ants: vinegar.
   Mop your floor with the remaining vinegar solution. Vinegar's smell dissipates as soon as the vinegar dries.
   mop head image by green308 from Fotolia.com
4. Spray ants seen in your home with the vinegar spray in the bottle. Keep the spray bottle handy in the kitchen or other areas where ants are prevalent.
   
5. Place pet food bowls inside shallow cake pans. Fill the cake pans halfway with water. This creates a protective moat that drowns ants as they attempt to get to your dog or cat's food.
6. bottles of ground cinnamon & allspice. oregano image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
   Ground cinnamon is one spice that repels ants in your home.
   Sprinkle cinnamon along the back of your countertops to repel ants from trying to get to the sugar bowl or other food items. The cinnamon repels the ants, while giving your kitchen a pleasant fragrance.