OK - squeamish, I'm not. Blood and gore barely make me flinch (I once watched a 12-hour marathon of "The Operation" after all), but for some reason, groups of bugs have always freaked me out. I can deal with a ladybug or two, but I would probably faint upon discovering a bunch of them moving along a wall or something. I actually showered for over an hour not too long ago when a brick I moved from the corner of the patio made a couple of pincher bugs hanging from the bottom fall on my foot. Still get itchy just thinking about it...
So imagine my surprise when I lifted a potted plant last week and found the thing teaming with carpenter ants. Yep - I screamed, dropped the plant and ran like I was being chased by a very quick dog. My son, who just stood there looking at me like I'd finally lost my mind (it probably looked like I did) put the plant in a bag and took it outside. He threw some snow in the planter while I peeked from the window. Even my partner shook his head when I told him what happened. He thought it was quite comical that I can step into a sparring ring at karate tournaments ready to do battle with almost anyone, but a few ants made me want to sell the house. A few?!?
We did the research, found out those big, crawling monsters don't actually EAT wood, just live in it (the plant was on top of a wooden speaker in my living room) and discovered that to get rid of them, we had to find the nest (probably outside of the house) and destroy it. But just in case they'd set up shop in the house, my partner decided to take the speaker outside and check it out. Afraid of what he might find, I actually had to leave the house as he and my son moved the speaker to the porch and opened it up in search of more ants. Thankfully, there were none, but now somebody's got to look around the house's foundation and in nearby trees for wood that might be hiding the nest. That somebody won't be me - although I'll be with them in spirit, watching from behind the window curtains. Seriously, if the housing market weren't so bad, I'm sure we could get rid of the house and find another bug-free one nearby...
The fellas seem to think we'll see more bugs as it gets warmer. Anybody know where I can get an cheap anteater?
