Tick Tock: Ants are Banished! (and a Product Review)

Yes, I took matters into my own hands. Yes, I was slightly seduced by an infomercial. Sue me.

Baylor and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond today and bought some ProCaulk. It looks so easy on television, and I was at my wits end with the ants so I thought I'd give it a shot. The caulk it comes with does have that warning on it, so I bought face masks as well.


After Little B went down for a nap, I got to work. First, I got all suited up and opened the windows for some ventilation. Luckily, it is in the mid-thirties out today so it wasn't too unpleasant. Plus, those masks (yes, I wore both) were REALLY HOT!

Then I used some Raid all around the baseboards and by the opening of the shower.

After drying off the excess Raid, cleaning the area properly, and drying it off, I got to caulking.

Finally, it was time to try out the ProCaulk tool!

It did okay, but I wasn't sure what to do with all the excess caulk. It said on the packaging and in the instructions that "no caulk would go to waste", but I had no clue how to reapply it (though I tried several times without success).

This was the main point of entry for the ants, and - of course - the most difficult spot to caulk. It isn't overly pretty, but I stopped that sucker up.

In the end, I caulked the perimeter of the bathroom (except for the area under the sink - I didn't want to mess with that at this particular time) and all the way around the toilet. I wasn't going to do the toilet, but then I saw an ant sneak out from under it while I was caulking and decided it might not be a bad idea.

Some areas came out nice and neat like the infomercial said they would ...

... and some did not.

In the end, I give ProCaulk a C+ as a product. I think with a little practice (or a little prior experience) this tool would be wonderful. But as a novice it was slightly frustrating.

Having finished my little Operation Tick Tock project, I felt exhilarated! I had accomplished something that I had never done before and was rather difficult, but I did it! I was a sweaty, disheveled mess, but I felt good. (Yes, my maternity pants are falling down ... jealous?)

I also felt good that (though he wasn't actually there to see all the happenings) my son will know that women can do just as much as men, and that if you want something done you should try to do it yourself. Find a way!

Hopefully my husband will be okay with my little project. And hopefully he won't mind showering in the other bathroom tomorrow morning!

Oh, and hopefully that will keep the ants away for good! (Knock on wood!)