In short, the time in the house we were sold did not meet expectations appropriated from normal standards. The summer in LA has been hot, therefore ants are a problem. I lived in LA, in the Hollywood Hills west of the 101 for five years, so I know ants can become a problem. We saw them in the kitchen when we arrived, so we knew there was a small problem, and we knew we were going to have to be super tidy with food and cooking. I placed the few groceries we bought for breakfast the next morning in the refrigerator, even if it wasn't necessary to be in the fridge. We soon found out it was not a small problem when we had ants crawling on us in our sleep, and also when we were watching TV. Henry, who looks after the house for Steve, was able to set traps and spray a little (he didn't want to inundate us with chemicals, and we agreed), on two different occasions, which helped, but not significantly. Vacuuming the house was the best remedy, and we did this a lot, especially when we wanted to watch TV at night. We did not cook in the house, and any food that we snacked on had to be eaten outside. Lesson learned: children and ants do not mix. These ants do bite. I had one trapped in my underwear line (which meant it was in my underwear (horrified) that was stored in my suitcase) and it was biting me. So my children were basically freaked out most of the time in the house with idea that these biting creatures were out to get them. The result: there was not a moment inside the house which could be identified as pleasurable. That's not entirely true, the shower was a pretty good showering experience. But seriously, try sleeping in a house with ants, with children who are afraid of said ants. You will not sleep: the lights will be on, and any tickle you feel, it may even be a psychological tickle, will shake you out of your slumber, and ultimately trigger the entire house to wake up on "Ant Alert". The only way cope was to pull the bed away from any walls, pray your pillow to never move to make a bridge to the wall, sleep without any blankets because they may droop to the floor and make a 'hand up' to the floor ants, and sleep with lights on to visually access the tickle you feel with greater ease. To cope with the daytime situation, we spent most time out of the house, which meant we did a lot of things, but the purpose of renting a holiday house is to enjoy the house. I'm so grateful I had family nearby on which to rely. The outdoor space of this house was it's saving grace. Our children loved the swimming pool. Its warm, and evening swims are a pleasure, and it gets kids...