Well, we're in the depths of winter here in South Africa. Many of you may be thinking, "So what? It can't be that bad. You're in Africa! No one ever says, "Man, it's Africa cold out there!" Well, you'd be wrong. It's cold.
Cold I can handle. Dry on the other hand can be a real problem. Respiratory illnesses are rampant right now in Johannesburg, and we've finally gotten them fixed in our family. The combination of cold, altitude, and dryness creates havoc with everything.
One of the main problems we have, besides chronic bronchitis, is ants. Ants?!? What's that got to do with cold and dry? Well, I'll tell you.
The average rainfall in Johannesburg for the month of June is 1/2 inch of rain. The average for May is 1 inch. July gets less than 1/4 of an inch. I can tell you, we've fallen below those marks. In the search for water, ants move themselves inside so they can try to find water to keep themselves alive.
At first we thought it was because the kids were being messy eaters. Lovely Little Girl has to be reminded not to eat apples while walking through the house, and Crazy Little Man needs reminding that he must be cleaned off before leaving the table. (He's still working on his eating skills. he's getting better, though.) So we cleaned and we cleaned. We made sure that there wasn't a crumb on the floor, and the honey was tucked into an airtight plastic ziplock bag.
We still got ants. It is so dry that they just keep finding ways in looking for water. Every morning we have to check to make sure they haven't tried to get into the water kettle because they're looking for water. Can't leave a glass out, as they'll be on it.
We have made quite an amazing discovery, though. Ants HATE the smell of baby powder. Apparently they can't handle it. So we've been sprinkling it in areas where we think they're coming in. It seems to work for a few days, and then they try another route. We then follow them back to their entrance and baby powder it too. It's a never ending stuggle. However, I suppose it'll work itself out. It is only the beginning of June, and we've still got two more months of Winter left. Hopefully it does rain soon, and we can stop fighting the ants.
It could be worse, I suppose. A friend of mine told me a story of someone in an African Country near the equator. His friend's wife heard a scratching noise on the front door and opened it thinking her dog had gotten out. Nope. It was a cobra. I think I'll take ants any day over that.
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