I'm under siege by ants.

I woke up yesterday morning (Sunday) to discover ants all over my coffee pot and coffee cup. They weren't at all interested in anything else I had lying around in the kitchen, that I could see; they just wanted the coffee.

I battled caffeinated ants about four years ago in the house I just moved out of, and these ants looked like the exact same species: tiny black bodies with a footprint of about one by two millimeters. But I'll tell you what, on coffee they're fast little buggers. In fact, I thought they were the same colony for a while.

I spent all day Sunday waging war against the ants, but the weapons I have are a can of Raid, a canister of Clorox pre-moistened sterilizing kitchen towelettes, most of a roll of paper towels, and a sink full of hot, soapy water.

They got into a coffee can I was using for another purpose (holding part of my junk drawer during the move), and I discovered it was because I hadn't quite removed every last speck of coffee grounds from it.

They were also fascinated with my microwave, even though they couldn't get inside it.

However, there was apparently a casualty on my side from the first day of fighting: the coffee maker they so desperately wanted. I normally pour a pint of vinegar instead of water into the reserve once every other month to clean out the brew path. Yesterday, it wouldn't pass a drop. I gave up and tried brewing water again, and it worked. So far, I've run three pots of water through the coffee maker, but I want to run a few more before I try coffee again.

But I found all the trails, and I found where they led, and I sprayed ant killer on them all. For good measure, I sprayed every edge I thought the ants were even thinking about using to conceal their trails. By nightfall, I had the upper hand.

The second day of the war saw renewed fighting, this time starting in the living room.

I ate pancakes at my computer desk a few months ago and spilled syrup on the keyboard tray. I thought I had cleaned it all up, but the ants corrected me in a very bold way.

However, they were after my coffee table as well this time. I still don't know why.  I didn't eat at the coffee table, and I'm not aware of spilling anything in all the time I've owned it. Nevertheless, they wanted it. The whole thing, and everything I left on it, almost as if they wanted to be termites insted of ants.

Fearing that they may find something else, and also to see where all they were getting in, I ventured into the room I was keeping most of my belongings in during the move.

My fear was justified.

They swarmed all over my computer desk chair, but they showed no interest in anything sitting on it. I spent more of my can of Raid on the chair than I did in all the fighting up to then. I decided that if they wanted my chair so badly that they were thinking of moving their queen into it, then I couldn't afford to keep it.

The first confirmed casualty of this war is my computer desk chair. It's now sitting outside next to the trash bin, no longer attracting ants inside.

My can of Raid is almost spent, and I fear I may still be under seige within my own home. There was enough left to spray barriers around my doors and windows.

Tomorrow's battle will be fought with ant poison, Roach Motel-style cans filled with grains these ants will love and give to their queen, grains which are extremely toxic to these ants and their queen.

I only hope they don't find anything of interest in my bed or my teddy bear while I'm out.