I sprinkled the diatomaceous earth around fire ant hills where we camped. That way, we could see the areas to keep our dogs away from (typical male dogs want to "mark" anything 4" tall or greater, which would include fire ant mounds....EEEKS!)
Something that will keep bugs from climbing up your power cord is duct tape. Take a turn around the cord, then reverse the tape 180-degrees, so the sticky side is up; and make a few wraps; then twist again to anchor the other end. Bugs don't like to crawl across "sticky"
