Off the Grid

Ants – Big Ants – Have Invaded My Yard
Stories of a Disconnected Life, by Alanna Vitucci

When we decided to live off the grid, we make a pact to try to live as environmentally consciously as possible. And, for the most part, we have. We recycle glass, paper and metal – except when the exhaustion of a toddler turns our brains to mush and we forget.

But I am faced with a dilemma. Ants – really big ugly black ants, have decided that the land right outside our back porch is perfect, and moved in. Now in addition to being environmentally friendly, there is the added concern that we draw water from our own well. Therefore, if we eradicate them with chemicals it could pollute the ground water, and we would have no drinking water. Aside from an inconvenience, this could be a really big problem if we were to ever sell this house.

But the ants are huge! And getting stung by one really hurts. I can handle it with a bit of grousing, but it would be more dangerous to our 14 month-old daughter. What if they got inside and swarmed – do ants swarm – in the baby’s room during the night? In fact, there was a case in west Phoenix where a baby was attacked in her crib by fire ants and died from the hundreds of stings.

After numerous moral and ethical conversations, we decided to call in the Orkin man. Especially since our cocktail of vinegar, Cajun powder and anything else nasty sounding in the pantry didn’t convince them to move on.

Once they arrived we were careful to explain our concerns and they shared that the chemicals break down very quickly and were not a threat. Grateful, we wrote the check and sent him out to do the deed.

I have to say that several weeks later there is still no sign of the ants and, well, I can just sleep better at night.

Note – there are several environmentally friendly pest control options, but when you live on five acres in the middle of the desert surrounded by forest you really need the heavy guns! It’s like living in the world’s largest bug light.

Alanna Vitucci is the President of Cactus Blossom Communications, a full-service marketing communications firm located in Ft. McDowell, Arizona. For additional information or to request a project quote, please log onto elance.com and search for CactusBlossomCom under the provider list. Or, contact her directly at 602.418.9068 / cactusblossomcom@direcway.com.

Sunday ~ February 02, 2006 by CactusBlossom
Posted in Off The Grid| No Comments

 

All’s well that ends well.

Off the Grid
Stories from a disconnected life by Alanna Vitucci

You don’t normally pay attention to how important water is to a functioning home. Without water you can’t flush the toilet, take a bath/shower or cook.

Recently we learned this lesson the hard way – when our well decided to quit pumping water at 2 am on a Saturday morning. Having woken up to some rather alarming noises from our water heater, once the sun was up, we started trying to contact the pump company. Only to learn that they had no 24-hour service number, and normal hours of operation were from 8-5 Monday through Friday. (Note to self – when living off the grid always ensure that you have repair numbers handy.)

After several frustrating hours, we quickly learned that water for cooking and showers was a plus, being able to use the toilet was non-negotiable. So amid dire thoughts of having to drill a deeper well, or worse – that the huge aquifer that we lived on top of had suddenly become bone dry – we packed up the baby and decamped to my parents home in Scottsdale for the remainder of the weekend.

Come Monday morning I placed a very anxious call to the pump company and they promised to send a technician out right away. After eight hours of work we had a new pump and several hundred feet of new casing inside the well itself.

The verdict – phew – was not that we had a problem well.

Rather, when our home was being built, the company delivering the roof tresses had backed over one of our tanks. At the time, everyone thought there had been no damage to the well itself. It turns out everyone was wrong – as the well casing had been cracked in five places and the old pump working overtime to draw water out of the leaky well.

That evening I took a long, hot bath and thanked the gods that our well was still, well, well!

Alanna Vitucci is the President of Cactus Blossom Communications, a full-service marketing communications firm located in Ft. McDowell, Arizona. For additional information or to request a project quote, please log onto elance.com and search for CactusBlossomCom under the provider list. Or, contact her directly at 602.418.9068 / cactusblossomcom@direcway.com.

Monday ~ February 02, 2006 by CactusBlossom
Posted in Off The Grid| No Comments

 

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