chknltl
chknltl's JournalSugar ant problem? Try this: Borax and jelly.
I recently moved to a house with a sugar ant infestation. Every room had those little rascals. My dog's food dish was a favorite meeting place as was my toaster and then there was that trail of ants on the rubber seal of my refrigerator YUCK!!!
So I checked the Internet for a cheap home remedy and found a few sites advocating the use of borax. One such site had tons of witness testimonials which sang the praises of this simple remedy. Figuring that the price was right, (about 10$) I gave it a try.
I found the borax at a local hardware store, the small jar of jelly at Safeway. I found a small lidded plastic (feta cheese) container to mix and store it in and mixed up a batch at about 50/50 strength. I poured a little into a few small jar lids then stored the rest in the fridge. Next I placed those bait filled lids where the ants were partying but not where my dog would get at them. Within 24hrs. the ants had found the bait, they utterly loved the stuff. They took the bait back to their nests. Each day saw fewer and fewer ants in my home.
It is now a week into my experiment and I am happy to report that my ant problem is tremendously reduced . At this point I am confident that the ants are going away. I feel good enough about this simple solution to recommend it here. If you do try this method, be sure to label your ant poison as such before storing it away for future use and don't set your bait out where pets or kids might find it.
Dum de dum........Hey kids! You will need a book of matches.....
So you want to impress that gal at the local coffee kiosk or maybe just your chums at school while at recess, well this bit of hand slight should get their attention.
For materials you will need a single match from a book of matches and an inkpen or magic marker.
If the match is dark on one side and light on the other no further preparations are needed but if not then darken one side of the match with your pen or marker.
Grasp the match by the match-head between your thumb and pointer finger and hold the match vertically upright with one flat side or the other facing you.
Next, keeping the match held vertical slide your thumb and finger in such a way that the match twirls exposing one side then the other. Get a feel for this as it is critical for the 'trick' to work properly. I find moistening my thumb and finger first helps.
Now add in the motion of twisting your wrist so that the match held upright is now facing down. Then reverse the motion so the match is back upright. Do this while twirling the match, get a good 'feel' for the combined motions.
Now do the combined motions in this controlled fashion: as you twist your wrist moving the match from upright to down twirl the match between your thumb and finger so only one side remains facing you. Practice this a bit doing so at a moderate speed. Notice how it appears that instead of seeing just the one side of the match it appears you are seeing both the front and the back of the match, that "both" sides are now the same color (" both " sides dark or " both " sides light) . This then is the illusion in your new magic trick.
Now that you see how the illusion works practice this trick holding your hand in a more comfortable position, for me I am holding the match horizontal flipping the match from left to right while twirling it between finger and thumb.
With practice you can perform this simple slight of hand easily amazing most who have never seen it before. One additional twist is to write your victim's name on one side of the match, show him that it is only on the one side but not the other and then watch his face as you show him that it has 'disappeared' entirely only to reappear on " both" sides.
Have fun.
c
Disclaimer: it's probably best you do not take the matches to school if you are too young too be messing with matches anyway.
Profile Information
Name: chris chickGender: Male
Hometown: Between Mt. Rainier and McKenna Wa.
Home country: Hanging in there but just barely
Current location: I am right here! (location subject to change depending on the weather).
Member since: Thu May 19, 2005, 07:43 PM
Number of posts: 10,558
