Nearly vanquished.

I've only picked up 10 ants today, and there are no discernible trails left. Finally, I can vacuum the corpses from the baseboards and use the mop handle to run a soggy paper towel between the fridge and the cabinet.

The tally so far:

* The spray chemicals, while highly effective, are noxious to humans and therefore not a great options. I will continue to boycott these as long as possible.

* The Raid baits in the teal box don't work. The box touts it contains *two* kinds of food for the ants. Neither of which the ants like, apparently. It's really expensive to boot, at nearly $6 for four.

* The MaxAttack baits in the red box are awesome. The ants love this stuff and die reasonably quickly. They are inexpensive, at about $2 for four.

* The Ortho Ant-B-Gon traps don't work, according to my pals. Good thing, too, as they are on the pricey side.

* The Raid outdoor stakes may or may not be working. They are not too expensive, at about $9 for six. They live outside, so I'm not too concerned about them.

* The tube bait is going back to the store. I don't like the idea of leaving open bait indoors.

* The clear containers of liquid bait looked incredibly cool. It's a pity they don't actually lure the ants inside, because it would be neat to see drowned ants *inside* the container. They are expensive, at about $5 for four. I bet they don't work.