What are these teeny ants doing in my house?

QUESTION: I have teeny little ants that are running all over my bathroom and my kitchen. If they are crushed, they have an ammonia-like smell. How do I get rid of them?

ANSWER: These are probably “odorous” house ants. They can have nests outside, but indoors, their nests are associated with moisture near plumbing pipes, water heaters and toilets. They often come inside during the monsoon season and they like to eat sweets. If you use surface insecticides you will only kill the ants that are touched by the spray. Baits are a better method of handling them, and you might want to hire an exterminator to handle the baits.

It’s also important to clean up cupboards and remove any food or packages that the ants have touched.

Q: I live in an 18-year-old manufactured home with wooden siding that was painted a few years ago. But now on the east wall, the paint job has developed bubbles about the size of quarters. The same thing is true of the paint on my neighbors’ houses. The paint doesn’t seem to peel off when you burst the bubbles. Why is this happening and how can I prevent it when I repaint?

A: This sounds like a moisture problem may be responsible. Is there a bathroom or some other source of moisture behind the wall? It’s possible that you need some kind of moisture barrier put onto the siding before repainting. If you have a good painter come out to look at your home, he can probably diagnose the problem.

Q: I have several varieties of big tomatoes that I’m growing in my yard. I don’t know why, but they’re all starting to split. What did I do wrong?

A: Your real problem is that there are many hours of intense sunlight in Arizona; it’s always difficult when you grow the big tomato varieties here. You can cover them with shade cloth part of the day to try to protect them from getting too much sun. You also have to be sure to water and fertilize regularly and in the right amounts; otherwise too much expanding and shrinking can occur. But generally speaking, big varieties are not going to win the most beautiful contests here in Arizona.

Q: I used to live in a house where I had Canary Island pine trees that I had planted about 15 years ago. I really loved them, but now that I have moved I can’t find any for sale in local nurseries to plant at my new house. So, I’ve been growing some of these trees from seeds that I purchased online. They have sprouted, and I’m wondering when I can plant them in the ground.

A: They rarely sell that type of pine tree here anymore, and I don’t know why. But you will probably be able to transplant your seedlings soon. Start by repotting them in one-gallon nursery pots and keeping them outside in the shade during the summer. Next year, you can transition to a sunnier location. It may take a year or two before you can put them into the ground. They’re very tall and elegant, of course, and because they’re so vertical, you can grow them in smaller areas.