What else loves this wet weather? Snakes. I've seen a record number of them this year. Normally, I will see about one garter snake per summer. This year, I've seen four huge black water snakes on the bike/hike trail and towpath (different times), a garter snake in the yard, and a small light gray with an orange strip snake on the sidewalk in the neighborhood. I wasn't happy to see any of them.
Also? Ants! We have had the worst time ever with the little sugar ants this year. It took us two weeks (we are not brilliant detectives) to figure out that in the kitchen they were coming in through a light switch outlet. Can I just say that neither Borax, cornmeal, nor vinegar did a damn thing to stop them? In fact, I believe the cornmeal actually attracted them instead of killing them. So much for natural remedies! After having to turn off the power multiple times and spray inside the outlet with poison a few times, we finally managed to get rid of them. A few days later, we now have a problem in the foyer!
Considering I'm my own Hazmat Team when it comes to my husband preparing the Thanksgiving turkey, you can imagine what I was like about him spraying insecticide anywhere in the kitchen. We'll just leave it at that.
Last week, I was paying for my groceries by credit card when the cashier looked at me and then called over a manager. Fortunately, the manager recognized me as a regular customer and didn't take my card from me. She said the screen read that my card had been 'compromised.' After paying with another card, I went home and called the credit card company, ready for the whole rigamarole of what charges were and weren't mine and ordering a new card. Surprise! They informed me that nothing was wrong with my account and that they had no idea why the store told me that?? They blamed it on a 'bad terminal glitch.' Ok, then . . .
Now I'm getting multiple emails from Snapchat on the gmail account associated with this blog. Someone out there thought they would create an account using my gmail address. Whoever you are, STOP IT!
And there you have my whole lot of nothing going on . . .
You've had three dry days since May. We've had about three wet days in that time. The whole region is experiencing a drought - ugh. It's weird when Northwesterners start praying for rain!
ReplyDeleteI despise, loathe, and fear ants with a passion. Try talcum powder. It has worked for me.
This will be two years in a row for us to not use our sprinkler system. I guess that's saving us some money, at least!
DeleteMy son was just showing me rainfall averages and would you believe we get more than Seattle? And that's not counting snowfall. He can't wait to move.
Ours seems to be normal weather, good mixture. Ants are a pain in the butt. Stupid fruit flies were here, got rid of them though. Someone seems out to get you, glitches and email account uses.
ReplyDeleteFruit flies are super annoying!
DeleteI'm trying to not get paranoid about the glitches.
I hate those sugar ants.
ReplyDeleteIt's like they multiply out of thin air.
DeleteIt's been raining here as well. This has been the strangest summer because the weather has been like a yo-yo. For a couple days it'll be sunny, hot and humid, then it rains for two or three days which cool things off. And I have to say, it hasn't been nearly as hot as past summers have been. Usually July is the hottest month, but so far it hasn't been too bad at all.
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in Florida where it rains a lot, snakes and ants are a big thing, so I know what are going through. Can I shared a tip for deterring ants? Buy a bottle of peppermint essential oil (it's very inexpensive) and place a couple drops on some cotton pads and then place them where you see ants. You can also add some to a spray bottle of water and spritz the area. Honestly, it truly works! I used to do that when I lived in Florida because I would get tons of ants in my kitchen (around the cat food). And the great thing about using peppermint oil is that it's safe around food and if you have pets, unlike insecticides. Plus, it leave the air smelling fresh and clean.
"They informed me that nothing was wrong with my account and that they had no idea why the store told me that?? They blamed it on a 'bad terminal glitch.'
Whew...glad to hear that it was a glitch and that your card hadn't been compromised.
Have a great rest of your week, my friend!
X
I did see the peppermint oil suggestion online. I will try it, but after the vinegar didn't work, I'm not holding my breath!
DeleteYes, it's been a cold July. I'm don't think we've seen 90 degrees yet. Weird!
It's been a cloudy week here with slight rainfall, a break from the heatwave which is nice. That's terrible what they did with your email address, certainly not good to have such mails coming in. Greetings!
ReplyDeleteHi Blogoratti! It can be scary to have your email address taken for unknown reasons. I guess someone wanted to post on Snapchat from a fake account?
DeleteIt does seem to have been a wetter-than-normal spring/summer here; it's been WAY more humid than normal (and that's saying something in Michigan), but we've had more than three dry days since May. It seems like we've had LOTS of days where it heats up to just below our AC setting, so we end up stewing in our own sweat, wishing that the temp would rise just one more degree, so the AC would come on, and dry out the air. I'm not sure our AC has come on even once, yet. I suppose I could lower the setting by a degree or two, but that just seems so extravagant. . . ;)
ReplyDeleteWe get the bigger, black carpenter ants (not termites, but still a pain in the butt). We don't mess with 'em; we just put out the little D-con cans, under the bookshelves, etc. Seems to work, eventually. We've had mice this year; usually we only see them in winter. And a family of groundhogs has moved in under our shed. . .
We haven't used our AC at all on the main floor. Those carpenter ants are a nightmare. We had them at the last house until we moved the firewood waaaaay far away from the house. We had a mouse issue in our garden this year! Ate all the snap peas!
DeleteNo fair, this is our monsoon season; seems like you guys took it over from us this year. We've only had a few storms since it started mid June. Ick on the ants. I remember having them a few years back in a house we lived in. Fun to get rid of, but eventually we did (I think we used some pet friendly spray at the time since we still had Koda). Its interesting the ants came in when it was so wet, usually in California its the other way around; they come in looking for water when it is so dry outside. I understand there are more snakes here than where we used to live. I stay inside a lot, LOL. Seeing four snakes would have been four snakes too many in my book :)
ReplyDeletebetty
I'm not a fan of snakes either. I about had a heart attack picking up sticks in the yard and almost grabbing the garter snake!
DeleteIt's hot and humid here, with regularly scheduled afternoon and evening thunderstorms, but then again, this is South Georgia... And there are a few snakes around including a copperhead in the shrubs
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the short-lived thunderstorm. It's the clouds and rain that last for days, without even a peek of sunshine. Just depressing!
DeleteJune was the second wettest on record for us, missed the top notch by just over an inch. Every other year in the top 5 we've been hit by a flood so ..... we're watching things closely. My vegetables have been loving it but so have the weeds. The humidity has been hovering between 90-99 since mid-May.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't tell Queenie about the snakes, so far she hasn't noticed but we've got bunches of them as well.
We noticed it starting in 2000, with the every other year flooding. But then, you and I have talked about these 100 year storms.
DeleteTrue that, we've lived a few centuries over the years, eh? ;-)
DeleteOh, and on that account using your e-mail? You may be able to take control by telling it you lost your password and have it send a link to your e-mail to reset it. then you can clear the snapchat account and leave it to gather dust ....
DeleteI had received a 'verification' email, so I'm not sure how they were ever even able to use the snapchat account without me verifying the email address. I contacted Snapchat directly and they closed it down.
DeleteA lot of stores are switching out their terminals in preparation for EMV--they have to switch by October or they're liable for any fraud that happens. So it could be a part of them learning a new system? That's embarrassing, whatever the reason!
ReplyDeleteI think you are on to something. The terminals are definitely newer there.
DeleteIts been raining cats and dogs here! But, today was awfully sunny. You know what they say about the Indian Summer!
ReplyDeleteI do? LOL!
DeleteThankfully no ants or snakes in our Northern Ireland climate, though plenty of rain that often produces fungi in the lawn. The ants must be driving you crazy, the prolific little buggers.
ReplyDeleteWe only get fungi on the mulch. Lots of pretty colors....lol!
DeleteWho goes out of their way to use your email address to make an account for themselves?
ReplyDeleteI hate ants, they freak me out. We had an ant problem a few years ago and it drove me nuts. I caulked up every hole, crevice, and crack I could find in the bathroom and then when that didn't work I had hubby close off the vent in the ceiling.
It's been hot here..104 most days. I would like some rain..not the snakes though.
The ant thing drove me crazy, especially since it was the kitchen and I'm a clean freak. Vegas does get hot, but it's a dry heat, right? LOL...like a freaking oven!
DeleteBad terminal glitch? As opposed to a good terminal glitch? Sorry for the gmail grief, Bijoux. It looks like we're going to have rain here tomorrow, but being in New York the only snakes i have to worry about are the two-legged kind.
ReplyDeleteIt already rained today while I wax walking. Looks like rain tomorrow during our party. It never ends.
DeleteHa on the snakes!
We aren't getting quite as much rain as you, but my tomatoes are bursting on the vine. And some succulents who prefer drier soil just dissolved.
ReplyDeleteI do love seeing (non-poisonous) snakes, though. They eat the mice!
Also, my boyfriend has had a sugar ant problem, too. We found them marching up the sides of the house to make their way into the kitchen. Little freakers. I think all the creepy crawly world is loving the rain!
Yes, our tomatoes are doing well here, but we have them in pots on the deck, so can offer them some protection under the roof.
DeleteWe had a centipede in the kitchen Friday night. I woke up my husband to get it! Not a fan of the creepy crawly or slithering world.
I call house centipedes "Satan bugs." I am utterly creeped out by them.
DeleteOMG, YES! They are seriously the worst bug ever! Their speed puts a spider to shame. So gross!
DeleteUgh on the sugar ants. We get ants occasionally in the house when it rains a lot. I don't like using sprays indoors, but Terro ant killer is pretty effective. It's a liquid that you put on a piece of cardboard or aluminum foil. It usually takes care of the ants within a few days. I might try Ron's suggestion of peppermint oil.
ReplyDeleteWe have a black racer living in the bushes in the front of the house, and a bunch of brown anoles all around the house. I don't mind those (as long as they stay outside - ha!), since they eat bugs and mice and spiders and roaches.
I'm afraid to look up those snakes. They sound big! I'm grateful to never have to deal with roaches!
DeleteBeing to the East of you, we are getting mostly the same weather (albeit a day or two later) that you have been getting. Lots of mowing here for me--between showers. Those black snakes are scary! I can remember being at the inlaws house on their bike trails during whenever the mating season is for those things and my gosh, I felt like I was on an Animal Planet special. I do confess to pedaling super fast that day...
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love social media and the Internet? People have way too much free time on their hands!
You should have seen me run and bike past those snakes! I got a little extra exercise those days.
DeleteThe rain brings out a lot of little wrigglies not usually seen. Snakes. Ants. Centipedes. Hmm. LIfe is a challenge, isn't it? I hope the rains have calmed down a little for you. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting!
DeleteSnakes and ants? No thank you! Blech!!! Nasty little pests.
ReplyDeleteWe are finally getting nice hot weather here. But we have had a few really strong thunder storms too. I welcome the storms after the really hot days. Of course, I'd prefer the storms without the crazy wind/lightening damage.
Hope your ant problem is fixed soon. I know what a pain that is.
Ants are finally gone! We have had two days of dry weather...LOL!
DeleteOoh, I hate the "Satan bugs" too. They give me the heebie-jeebies. Likewise roaches. In fact anything small and scuttling! Though I have a soft spot for spiders and always save them from being trodden on.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind ladybugs or moths. That's about it!
DeleteOh man, you are really getting all kinds of critters! I hope things dry up soon and they all go away! :)
ReplyDeleteLast week was better!
Delete