Lets kill a couple of ants with one stone.

I live in Wisconsin.  I live a block and a half from Lake Monona.  We have ants.  And spiders.  And lake flies.  Not always at the same time, but we are there.  I don't mind the spiders (and please don't ever ask me how to kill them because I don't kill spiders.  I name them and leave them alone and call them my pet until  they decide to leave).

But I will tell you how to get rid of ants and freshen your carpet at the same time.

We had ants.  Omg, the little sugar ants that cover things and..and...EW!

I tried the borax-sugar trap.  They didnt take the bait.   I tried rubbing cinnamon into the cracks where they were coming in.  It worked for a few hours, but then they stopped caring.

Then when I had given up, I noticed they stopped coming in.

This was a couple of days after I had started using a home made carpet freshener that I found somewhere on the internet.

So here is what you do:

Get an old parmesan cheese container....the kind that has a screw-off shaky lid.  Make sure it is super clean.  You don't want Parm in your carpets. Food will just draw more bugs.

Fill 3/4 with baking soda and the other 1/4 with cinnamon.  I used Saigon Cinnamon because it was what I had on hand, and I think that was what made the difference (with the ants).  Turn the closed bottle over and over lightly until the entire contents is a light brown and obviously well mixed.  You dont want to shake this one to mix it because the powders are so fine that you will end up with a nose full of baking powder and cinnamon.  And if you use the Saigon cinnamon, that will burn like woah.

Sprinkle this on your carpets just as you would that other carpet powder that you usually buy.  Let it settle for a few minutes then vacuum.  It will leave your carpets smelling fresh, clean, and like cinnamon.  If you like, you can add ground up cloves or any other spice that you like the smell of.  

When I used the Other Name Brand Carpet Powder, I was always nervous about my daughter walking on the rug before I vacuumed it up because I didnt know what was in it, and there was a big Keep Out Of Reach Of Children label on the back of it.

This recipe is made of things that you put in cookies.  Even if my daughter rolled around naked on the carpet, my biggest worry would be that she'd get cinnamon in her eyes.

SO!  There it is!  Freshen your carpets and get rid of ants all in one go.  And when you are done, maybe make some cookies.

Coming soon: Deodorant, Spray fabric refresher that doubles as a glass cleaner (really!), and a super easy all purpose cleaner.