October 17 2008 Page 3

The Almost Twice Weekly Newspaper for the Jaltemba Coast

 Organic Ant Control              

               By Tara Spears

Since moving to the tropics I’ve had to come to terms with coexisting with the hordes of ants, as there are 455 different types of ants found in North America alone and around 8,000 species worldwide. Ants are very important to the rainforest and tropical jungles, as they perform vital natural roles as predators, soil builders and plant pruners.  That being said, I still don’t appreciate their presence in my kitchen or near my food.  Sure, there are many commercial toxic products to control insect pests, but having pets and children, not to mention concern for the environment, I went on a quest to find other ways to keep the bugs out of my space without harming other living things. I was fortunate to hook up with several organic gardeners and environmentalists in south Florida.  These experts were a font of safe and practical organic recipes.  The use of non-toxic( to humans and animals) organic sprays can be very effective. They are comprised of common organic materials, soaps and occasionally other green friendly materials. Organic insecticides are home brewed recipes that you can make and that will save money besides.

One of the most common pests, and therefore most annoying, is the Pharaoh (sugar) ant. These very tiny-about 1/16 of an inch long-ants appear out of nowhere in a flash when food is present. Light yellowish brown, sugar ants follow each other in a line straight to that drop of cream for your coffee you spill on the counter. By time you drink half a cup, there are hundreds convening at that drop. These are the same ants that will feast on that dead fly that you swatted. It isn’t safe to spray your kitchen counters and table with poison, but there is a very fast, easy deterrent that works instantly: cheap white vinegar!  I wipe down my kitchen counters and tables every night with a vinegar soaked paper towel.  During the day, any spills are cleaned up and vinegar wiped to eliminate the appeal to ants.  Pour vinegar into your water when you mop the floor as another way to discourage ants. If you are ambitious, you can follow the ant trail back to find the nest and dump straight vinegar into it.  If you have a problem with ants on plants in the garden, a vinegar wipe will take care of that, too.   It is the smell of vinegar that sends the microscopic invaders running.

Pharaoh (sugar) ant   (magnified 10,000 times its actual size)

            Here are several other nifty organic insect repellents (works for several types of bugs besides ants) that are easy to mix up:

Insecticide Garlic Spray:

 Ingredients:  1 garlic bulb; tap water

Instructions:

Take an entire garlic bulb and two cups of water; blend in blender.

Mix at high speed for 1-2 minutes.

Pour into a container and set aside for up to one day.

Strain liquid through a cheese cloth (or small mesh strainer).

Mix liquid with one gallon of water.

Apply liberally to the top and bottom of leaves, around windows, doors, anywhere you see ants.

                                                 Garden Insecticide Soap Spray:

Ingredients: Liquid Dish Detergent (Dawn is excellent), tap water

Instructions:

Put one tablespoon of dish detergent per gallon into a sprayer.

Apply liberally to the top and bottom of plant leaves, around windows, doors, anywhere you see ants.

Re-apply after rain or about every one to two weeks.

Essential Oil Repellants

           Although I have not used this method because I’ve had good results with the previous mixes, I have friends that swear by the oil repellants.  You can obtain the essential oils at local pharmacias or the Thursday market (Tianguis)  Simply soak cotton balls in ant-repelling essential oils and place the cotton wherever ants appear or you don’t want ants to be. Ants detest mint, camphor, tansy, and clove oil.

                                                         Hot Pepper Spray:

Besides repelling ants that are attracted by smell, this concoction can be used to repel deer, rabbits, and cats from your flowers and some vegetables. This is a great one as we have an abundance of inexpensive and potent peppers available!

Ingredients: 6 hot peppers, such as chile piquin or serrano- the hotter the better; water

Instructions:

Put hot peppers and two cups of water into a blender.

Mix at high speed for 1-2 minutes.

Pour into a container and set aside for up to one day.

Strain liquid through a cheese cloth or fine mesh strainer 

Add liquid into a one quart container. Fill container to top with water.

Apply liberally around windows, doors, plants, flower beds-anywhere you see ants.

Re-apply after rain or about every one to two weeks.

                                            *     *    *    *    *     *

        For those that want to know the enemy, let’s look at some of the other ants that live in our area:

Pavement Ant:  This 1/10th of an inch long ant is light brown to black colored with appendages lighter than rest of the body.  It primarily nests outdoors under stones, along curbs or in cracks of pavement but can move into structures to nest indoors in walls and under floors. The pavement ant will invade buildings while foraging for food throughout the year. While it is omnivorous, eating many things, pavement ants prefer greasy and sweet foods so kitchens are big attractors. This slow-moving ant is a particular nuisance around buildings with slab-on-grade construction such as we have in this area.

       The Carpenter Ant is among the largest ants, from 1/4- to 3/8-inch long. The most common species is black, but some have reddish or yellowish coloration. Workers have large mandibles. This destructive pest resides both outdoors and indoors in moist or hollow wood. While the carpenter ant does not eat the wood, it cuts "galleries" into the wood grain to provide passageways for movement from section to section of the nest, leaving "sawdust" behind. The tunnels can weaken the wooden structures, including furniture. Use the sawdust to locate the nesting location to apply insecticide. The carpenter ant will feed on nearly anything people eat—particularly sweets and meats. All kinds of buildings, regardless of age or type of construction, are vulnerable to infestation and damage by carpenter ants. They are very difficult to control. Colonies can contain up to 50,000 workers.

Carpenter Ant                      Argentine ant

Originating in South America, the Argentine ant can be found in all warm areas of North America.  This pest’s appearance ranges from light to dark brown and is about 1/10-inch long. Readily adaptable, it can nest in a great variety of places. Colonies are massive and may contain hundreds of queens. The nests are usually located in moist soil, next to or under buildings, along sidewalks or beneath boards. These ants travel in trails, foraging day and night. The Argentine ant has no important natural enemy in North America which is why it is such a pest.  Omnivorous, they can eat almost anything but prefer sweet foods.

       Another common warm environment pest is the Odorous Ant: This ant is typically dark reddish-brown to black and 1/10-inch long. When crushed, it gives off a very unpleasant odor, hence its name; its colonies are very large.  The odorous ant nests can be found in a great variety of situations. Inside buildings, they are often found nesting in the walls or beneath the floor. They are most likely to invade buildings during rainy weather. (Yikes!)  They travel in trails, foraging day and night.

Odorous Ant              Fire ant

         Lastly, the insidious Fire Ant also originates from another country but it has steadily advanced throughout North America.  This bad boy of the ant world is reddish to dark brown in color, about 1/4-inch long. It nests in mounds of 1 to 2 feet in diameter and about 1/2-foot high. Large colonies can have up to 250,000 workers. Very active and aggressive, they will sting any intruding animal repeatedly, including humans. Prodigious eaters, this omnivorous ant is known to eat meats besides greasy and sweet materials. Fire ants eat Honeydew melons in the wild but when inside buildings, they prefer sweet items. Fire ants have even been known to remove rubber insulation from telephone wires! The fire ant sting is painful, and some people are very sensitive to its toxin, requiring medical treatment for stings.  Fire ants can kill young wildlife. I have used boiling water to eliminate individual fire ant mounds, particularly when the ants are close to the mound surface, such as on cool, sunny mornings. Cover the mound with a container, and pour boiling water around the container. Wait one minute, then turn over the container with a stick and pour an additional gallon of boiling water into the ants seeking refuge in the container, besides pouring directly into the mound. Unfortunately, 3 gallons (12 liters) of hot water poured on each mound will eliminate only about 60 percent of the nest. Be prepared to consistently and frequently respond to nests with more boiling water to eliminate this ant from your yard.

ANT  PREVENTION: easier than getting rid of them once they invade.

Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.

Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes ants use these branches to get into your home.

Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house as the diminutive ant can use this small space to get into your home.

Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Ants like to build nests in stacks of wood or undisturbed piles of stuff.

Keep all stored food in hard, sealed containers to prevent attracting ants or giving the colony a food source. Even unopened food packages need to be put into a metal, plastic or glass tight-sealed container to eliminate the scent that draws ants.

     Before you reach for that can of poison, remember that there are safer methods for dealing with unwanted pests.  With just a little effort you can keep the ants from marching in yet not harm desirable species or humans.  Well worth the time.

Contact Tara        Email:  terri_sprs@yahoo.com

FISH TACOS

Recipe from Ann Hazard
Author of Agave Sunsets, Cartwheels in the Sand and

Cooking with Baja Magic

Visit: http://bajamagic.com or write CookBaja@aol.com

(Ann writes:This Baja creation has been around longer than I have. According to local legend, fish tacos originated in San Felipe where they have always been the street taco of choice. In the early 80's, they were discovered by a young Baja aficionado who pirated the recipe from a now defunct taco vendor and bought it northwest to San Diego. He opened a tiny taco shop named Rubio's down by Mission Bay that specialized in authentic Baja-style fish tacos. By the year 2000 it's expected that there will be over 100 Rubio's restaurants in Southern California -- so I guess I don't really need to tell you that the popularity of those fish tacos has skyrocketed.

For the best fish tacos south of the border these days, (in  Nina's opinion) you have to travel to San Felipe (on the Sea of Cortez) or Ensenada (directly west on the Pacific). Her favorite tacos can be found at the fish market in Ensenada. When you first drive into town, you'll make a right turn just past the ship repair yards and immediately you'll see the outdoor fish market. There's a huge palapa on the right, at dockside, where vendors sell an incredible array of  just-caught seafood, fresh shrimp cocktails and the most awesome fish tacos around. In case you're wondering, Juan Carlos, the grinning gato, agrees with Nina 100%. He does so love those fish tacos, He comes all the way up from his new home in Todos Santos to Ensenada at least twice a year just to eat some!

This recipe does its best to bring Baja Fish Tacos to you. Depending on their appetites, this will serve three to four people. But then again -- if your friends are anything like ours, they may be so enamored with your fish tacos that you'll have to double the recipe next time around. You could have worse problems!  Oh, and if you don't want to use fried fish, you can lightly season and broil or grill  the fish filets instead.  You won't sacrifice either the taste or the inherent air of festivity generated by these colorful, incredible tacos. )


8 filets of white fish, cut into strips of about 1 1/2" x 4" each
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup corn or canola oil
1 cup thin sour cream sauce
Pico Pica sauce or any red pepper sauce to taste
6 radishes, minced
1 cup shredded cabbage for garnish (use a mixture of purple and green)
1/2 bunch cilantro, in sprigs
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup Cheddar, Chihuahua or Jack cheese, shredded
salsa fresca to taste

Dredge each fish filet in beaten egg. Coat thoroughly with mixture of corn flake crumbs and Italian bread crumbs. In a frying pan heat oil until a drop of water sizzles when put in the pan.

Cook each fish filet for three to four minutes on each side. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Place filets in oven on warm until you are ready to serve.

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream sauce and Pico Pica with the radishes. Put a fish filet on one half of a hot corn tortilla. Place one to two tablespoons of sauce on top of filet as you are serving it. Garnish with shredded cabbage and serve immediately with salsa fresca on the side.

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