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Dear Sun Spots: Awhile ago you published a recipe for something that can be used to get rid of ants. I misplaced the recipe and was wondering if you could print it again. Thanks! – Heidi, Greene.

Answer: We found a few recipes for this; hopefully one of them will help!

The first recipe calls for 3 cups of water, 1 cup of sugar and 4 teaspoons of boric acid powder, which is available at most pharmacies, and at home and garden supply stores. The mixture can be poured into a jar filled with cotton swabs or old pill bottles with cotton in the neck to act as a wick. Experts recommend keeping this mixture out of reach of children. The ants will be attracted by the sugar and then return to the nest with the poison.

Another recipe is to mix ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup baking yeast, and ½ cup molasses together and then smear a thin layer on index cards. Use a rubber spatula to spread the mixture on the cards. Put the index cards in places where you have seen ants.

Also, mix equal parts Borax and powdered sugar. Set out in lids from baby food jars, or lids of similar height, just a teaspoon or so in each bait. It may take a few days, but it works. You may need to place new baits out after a few days in really humid weather. Be sure to place your bait in places inaccessible to pets and children.

Another suggestion is to combine the following ingredients in a spray bottle: 10½ ounces water, 3 ounces Tabasco sauce and 2½ ounces of Dr. Bonner’s liquid peppermint soap (available at health food stores). Spray the mixture where the ants enter the home.

Dear Sun Spots: I have a Sony 560X Digital handycam that the button to bring up the tape doesn’t work, and I have films that I would like to transfer to CDs. Wanted to know if anyone would have such a camera that I could borrow or buy so I can do this. Telephone 784-1789 or e-mail me at [email protected] – Marie, No Town.

Answer:
Sun Spots wonders if you’ve checked local retail stores that sell Sony products, such as Best Buy on Turner St. in Auburn, to see if they can help you with the repair for this item.

Dear Sun Spots: How many POW camps existed during WWII, and where were they located? – No Name, Lewiston.

Answer:
There are too many prisoner of war camps to list in this space. We found lists of well over 100 located throughout the United States, USSR, Japan, Germany, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Britain and Kenya.

A prisoner of war camp is a site for the containment of enemy combatants captured in time of war. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. Some non-combatant enemy personnel, such as merchant mariners and civil aircrews, were also considered prisoners of war.

Dear Sun Spots: You answer so many things, hopefully you have an answer on one I have for you.

I am looking for a 1976 Lewiston High School Yearbook, Spirit of ’76, in good condition, no autographs or torn out pages. If you know of one that is available for purchase please let me know. Thank you. – Christine, Lewiston.


Answer: Hopefully a reader will have this available for purchase; please contact the column if you do.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted.

Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be posted at www.sunjournal.com in the Advice section under Opinion on the left-hand corner of your computer screen. In addition, you can e-mail your inquiries to [email protected].

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