Marianne and I were eating dinner in the living room when she noticed something crawling below the TV.
It was the biggest, baddest ant I've seen.
3cm long, big red mandibles, green abdomen.
Marianne asked me to not wait and get rid of it.
I took a picture and quickly threw it out the window.
It was scary cuz unlike a spider or a cockroach, this was an ant.
And ants... don't travel alone.
But this ant seemed to be alone.
I found no other like it around.
That was some relief.
I later posted the picture on FB.
Then... someone identified it.
Queen.
Queen.
Queen.
It was the Queen of the big red ants.
It felt like the moment in a horror movie when you realise that the monster never left the house.
(It didn't help that I had just watched Prometheus that night.)
I slowly approached the TV cabinet where i last saw it.
By now... any eggs it had laid would have hatched.
I took a deep breath and yanked the cupboard doors open...
It was the biggest, baddest ant I've seen.
3cm long, big red mandibles, green abdomen.
Marianne asked me to not wait and get rid of it.
I took a picture and quickly threw it out the window.
It was scary cuz unlike a spider or a cockroach, this was an ant.
And ants... don't travel alone.
But this ant seemed to be alone.
I found no other like it around.
That was some relief.
I later posted the picture on FB.
Then... someone identified it.
Queen.
Queen.
Queen.
It was the Queen of the big red ants.
It felt like the moment in a horror movie when you realise that the monster never left the house.
(It didn't help that I had just watched Prometheus that night.)
I slowly approached the TV cabinet where i last saw it.
By now... any eggs it had laid would have hatched.
I took a deep breath and yanked the cupboard doors open...
I would not want one of those in my bed at night...
ReplyDeleteby the way, hope you realise that the ant you took a picture of doesn't have wings anymore. that means that it has already mated and is totally ready to start a new colony. AND i was attacked by worker weaver ants, and trust me, the bites hurt. for a long time.
ReplyDeleteKevin, I would not want one of those in my bed anytime.
ReplyDeleteElsa, I need a place to stay. I'm going to burn down the house.
I saw a black version of that just yesterday...
ReplyDeletecan't help you there! but i can give you advice.
ReplyDelete1) kill them as far from their friends as possible. when you kill one, the others swarm you.
2) wear rubber gloves or kill them with something other than a part of your body. they're quite hardy and slightly difficult to kill with one hit when they're on your body. so if you slap them with your hands, be prepared for them to climb on your hands and bite you there.
these are hard-earned lessons from experience. treasure them. and call pest control. haha.
You sound painfully experienced.
ReplyDeleteK I'll take them out at a distance and kill them with fire because their blood is acidic.