Another vote for Terro.  In my 17 years here I've had ant problems twice (the tiny brown ones.)  Who knows what caused it...weather conditions, maybe random ant mound next to the house?

Anyway, Terro worked both times although it's alarming to see so many more coming to get it and it's really hard to resist smashing them.

It's expensive for borax sugar water but the little containers are convenient.

I've never really had an ant problem here in the desert. I've seen them outside but that's it. Inside I've had the occasional cricket (zillions of them outside) find their way in through the dog door. It only takes one to set up shop under the dishwasher of fridge to drive you nuts at night. There's also these extra-large roaches in the summer. Fortunately they seem to stay outside and if one sneaks indoors they die quickly. Maybe they don't like air conditioning.

The"bugs" that thrive here, love super-hot weather and love to eat crickets are black widow spiders. I remember seeing them as a kid in San Jose but not like here. I hate them! The black widow is a smart spider. They build their webs at ground level, that's where the delicious crickets are. She's smart enough to stay out of the house since there's no gourmet fare there. I used to go out at night hunting for them armed with a can of Black Flag and a flashlight. The light seems to make them freeze so they're easy prey. During the day their webs are easy to spot. They're "helter-skelter" with no web pattern. They're stiff too like fishing line. There's always an area near the web for the spider to hide. 

I took this photo a few years ago. I ordered a CD from Amazon and it got left on my porch for a short time. When I picked up the box (had open flaps on the sides) and reached in side I could feel spider web on my fingers. I looked inside and yikes! There she was, extra big and extra ugly. I did the Mexican Hat Dance on the box which finished her off but not before I snapped this photo for those friends I knew would say "have you been drinking"? Once again, I hate black widow spiders. 

These work better for me than Terro or any other liquid bate.  I'll cut one open, tape it down with blue masking tape to keep curious purr-balls from messing with it.  I think they can smell it because it's only seconds until one goes in to sample the buffet and then comes running out to tell his friend.  Soon it's a whole family reunion. 

Don't be surprised if more show up in a couple of weeks.  Eventually they will be less and less until the whole colony is dead.

You mean earwigs? They're ugly little things. They were an outside problem in the SF Bay Area but they don't live here in the desert heat. Scorpions do, but I've never seen one although a friend found one in his ironing room. It was very small, the kind of you see in California mountain areas.

Of course there are the larger variety that live deep in the desert.

Outdoor chipmunks are a real problem around my place (sorry Alvin fans, but in real life they are just rats with racing stripes.)

I keep their numbers under control with common rat snap traps.  In some past years there have been indoor/outdoor cats that patrolled and kept them in check without effort on my part.