As long as I can remember, the ants of Wellfleet have made June their appearance month. I’m not crazy about ants but have learned to live with them.
Yesterday morning I went over to the cottage
because a repairman had responded to my call after the stove started emitting a more pungent propane smell than usual. Our current cottage guest was in the kitchen, washing dishes. She pointed at the cupboard and exclaimed, “You’ve got ants! We’re not eating anything in that cupboard.”“Those tiny ants? That’s nothing,” I said, purposely flippant. “They’re normal on Cape Cod. We used to have really large black ants and got rid of them.”
“Ants love our sandy Cape soil,” chimed in the repairman from the floor, where he lay angling a flashlight towards the gas burner.
Later it occurred to me that the real estate folks might have a different take on how to handle the June ant invasion, so I called a few agents:
“We strongly recommend an inspection and spraying to all our owners, inside and out, in the spring and fall,” said Penny at Prudential Cape Shores. “If we get a tenant complaint, we will go over and inspect the situation and have a follow-up visit from the exterminator. When people come on vacation, they don’t want extra company.”
“What does the exterminator use?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” Penny said.
Chemicals, no doubt. This seems like overkill to me. We are talking about less than a dozen ants here.
Then I called Heather at VIP Real Estate, also on Main Street, and asked if VIP had a similar policy.
“Nope,” Heather said. “Hopefully, if the owners are aware of a problem, they seek a professional ant treatment, but I would recommend cayenne pepper. That’s what I use at home. People need to understand that we are surrounded by woods. The National Seashore? We’re borrowing from other creatures here.”
Score 10 points, VIP.
Next I called Sweetbriar, a newcomer to town.
“We don’t run into the problem,” Jennifer, in rentals, told me. “We suggest, in the beginning, that owners sign up with a regular service in anticipation of the ants because we know they are coming.”
I told her cayenne works. And, it doesn’t need to be organic. (To be continued ...)
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chezsven 82p · 770 weeks ago
I love your blog - it is so informative. Your photos are wonderful and your observations are most insightful. As the Owner/Broker of Prudential Cape Shores Real Estate I am more often sitting behind my desk or showing property during the summer so I miss a lot of what you see and report. Reading your blog is a terrific way to catch up on Wellfleet happenings.
I would like to clarify and add that, in fairness to Penny who you called to ask about our policy regarding pests , she informed you that we do indeed ask our homeowners to have their homes treated for the prevention of insects both before and after the season ends. We do not determine how homeowners should treat their homes for pests but most do choose to use exterminators who in turn do use chemicals. For the most part our summer rental properties are uninhabited by humans for most of the year which tends to leave the door open for many "uninvited guests". They have a longer time to establish their nests/residences in the homes of absent owners than in the year round occupied homes that are not closed up off season. Ants are not the only insects who invade - we also have homes harboring a various assortment of spiders to which many of our renters are either very afraid or highly allergic. Where insects are concerned renters seem to equate their presence with a property being dirty. Fear is another very difficult emotion to pacify without removing the intruder(s). When running a large rental business with an inventory of over 150 homes we look to our owners to maintain them as they see fit - we don't own the properties we find tenants for them. In an ideal world it would be far preferrable if we could ALL live in harmony with the natural world. Many of our tenants live in cities and most are not used to the close proximity of the natural world because their apartments are treated chemically. We receive many complaints each summer from tenants expecting refunds for perceived "dirty" homes. We had a renter here in the office just this morning complaining about her " dirty house with spider webs in corners and a spider actually EATING a fly in its web" - and I quote her reaction: "GROSS!"
While I truly do understand your sentiments I also think it is a lot easier for a resident homeowner, such as yourself, to monitor the insects and repel them as naturally as you are able. Natural remedies often take several appications and don't last an entire summer as evidenced by others who have written in to this blog.Tenants paying a lot of money for their weekly rentals here simply do not want to treat the ants they see even if it would be far preferrable for them to do so. It is interesting to note that the tenants who complain about our ants will say they don't want the treatment while they are in residence and to wait until they leave to arrange it ! Many of our owners live off-Cape - many in other states - and are often here for one weekend to prepare their homes for tenants at the beginning of the season and then they are gone.
I agree with you - I don't like chemicals or pesticides in the environment or in my home either and I applaud your efforts to create a clean, natural, green, safe and healthy place for our community..
We provide information to our homeowners on many different aspects of maintaining a home here from a distance. If you, or any of your bloggers, have a list of natural, safe, effective pest control options for us to provide to our homeowners to use we would welcome providing that information to them. Constructively working towards a solution is always the preferred way of solving problems as I am sure you will agree.
In appreciation of your blog and your hard work.
Amanda Robinson
chezsven 82p · 770 weeks ago