About the same time Meredith was battling ants in her kitchen in Brentwood, I was dealing with my own ant problem in my kitchen in Franklin, TN -- just a hop skip & a jump away .

I believe these are sugar ants.  They're small and black (or dark brown).

As far as getting rid of the ants, I decided not to use any of the chemicals we had in the cabinet for insects & other pests.  (I guess all this talk of 'going green' is starting to have an impact on me!)  Instead, searched for a natural home remedy that would work -- hopefully using something that I already had on hand.

I found it... Bay leaves!

A new thing I'm trying this year to tame my allergies is: HONEY!

But not just any honey... it has to be local honey made right where you live.

Here's how it works...

 Plants are pollinated by both insects and by the wind.

Honeybees will collect pollen from each of these species and it will be present in small amounts in honey that was gathered by bees that were working areas where these species are growing. When people living in these same areas eat honey that was produced in that environment, the honey will often act as an immune booster. The good effects of this local honey are best when the honey is taken a little bit (a couple of teaspoons-full) a day for several months prior to the pollen season. Source

I've written about basic tick prevention and removal methods before.

Since then, we've learned a little secret from the U.S. Military.

It's called Permethrin!

Do you fear spiders?

Have you read about the Brown Recluse scare?

What about the graphic pictures of a Brown Recluse spider bite... have you seen 'em?

Now you can get a FREE poster to help you identify spiders in your area.

In our never ending quest to find "the perfect property" on which to build a new house, we have been traipsing in... through... up... and over... tall, thick brush filled with ticks!

Here's what I've learned about the dangers of ticks (like not all ticks carry the dreaded lyme disease), and the best tip of all: The easiest way to remove ticks!

In our search for the perfect piece of property to build our next home on, we've been spending a good deal of time in the woods -- traipsing through thick brush and weeds.

This means... we've seen a good deal of ticks, received more than our share of chigger bites, and walked through far too many thick spider webs -- with the spiders still in them! (It seems like all the spiders in the forest build their webs between dangling tree limbs -- right about at shoulder level.)

Unfortunately, this has resulted in numerous bug bites on our arms and legs, ticks that have managed to work their way up and under our clothes, and even a fairly serious spider bite where Jim's entire right arm got tight (the muscle was constricted) and he ran a high fever.

One thing we've learned:

You've probably seen them hanging out in people's yards.

I never understood the whole Bag-a-Bug concept... that is, until WE needed to use them!

Listen to Bud Light's Real Men of Genius "Mr. Backyard Bug Zapper Inventor":

Japanese Beetles In Tennessee

...even though we've lived in this same house for over 3 years.