Tuesday, March 4, 2008

AUNTS or ANTS?????

ITS ANTS!!!! For the past week I have been noticing groups of ants in different spots throughout the house. First it started in the upstairs bathroom there was a pile of them and I followed a trail around the corner and into a corner of the wall....what did I discover, but a tiny little nerd candy. So I got the vacuum and swept the upstairs and threw out the tiny little nerd candy. About a couple days later I discovered some more in the half bathroom downstairs and I quickly swept them up and also at that time noticed this odd looking bug. It looked like an ant, but yet it had wings. Had never seen that before. Thought nothing of it, picked it up and flushed it down the toilet. The next day I found ants crawling on the floor in Caden's room and down the hall??? How can this be??? I just swept here a few days ago???? So I got the vacuum again and swept the upstairs once again. Weekend came and weekend went and no ants to be found.(that I noticed anyway). Well, boy was I wrong....I woke up this morning went to my closet to pick out some clothes and when I entered it I saw about 4 ants in the middle of the closet. I thought that was weird so I turned on the light for better seeing and discovered not 4 ants but 100's of them!!! They were crawling in and out of all our shoes, on the wash basket clothes that needed to be washed, and even a few on the hanging clothes!!! I immediately started crying and getting creeped out. I called nick and was crying uncontrolably to him asking him what to do, who to call, how to get rid of them, etc. I just wanted him to come home cause I couldn't deal with them. Of course he didn't and I had to step it up and take care of the situation at hand. I first called Orkin. They asked me what they looked like and how big they were so I went upstairs to get a closer look and measure them. I was bitten by one as I was measuring it and then looked down to see that 3 had already crawled up onto my pant leg!!! AGHHHH!!! I started to get choked up on the phone, but they told me they couldn't come till tomorrow. So I said "Id call them back if I needed them". I then called Terminex and the nice lady on the other end could tell I was freaking out and was so sweet and said she would get someone out at 3pm today!! I was willing to pay any price at this rate cause I just wanted them GONE!!! So anyway after measuring these guys, the lady on the other end thought maybe they might be carpenter ants. So after hanging up the phone I googled carpenter ants to find that if they indeed were carpenter ants we could have a problem. This type of ant burrows into wood(they do not eat wood), but chip it away and make lots of paths thru it causing wood to be ruined. They like damp wood and we have had leaking in our house a few times when it rains alot and I was certain it was due to that and we would have to have some guy come look at our roof and probably have it replaced or something crazy. I learned alot about carpenter ants today, but when the Terminex guy arrived and came upstairs to check out the closet infested with ants, he bent down to pick one up and immediately it bit him which he knew was NOT a carpenter ant but a FIRE ANT!!!! So you northerners might not know what those are, but they are ants that HURT when they bit you and can also cause paralitic(?)shock in small children (esp. if they are allergic to bee stings and such things like that). And for those southerner's you know how terrible this is!!! This terminex guy had never dealt with Fire Ants in the house before, and had to call his boss who had not dealt with them indoors either. But they had a spray that was to work on this type of ant and so he sprayed really well. So far they are slowly dying and I have the joy and privilage of cleaning out the closet and taking care of the shoes and clothes. The guy told me the best thing was to wash the lower hanging clothes(the ones that touched the floor or shoes) and to clean out those shoes cause you don't want to put your foot into a Fire Ant. I bagged all the shoes and put them into the freezer(thankfully we have a garage freezer that isn't full) to kill the ants. They stayed there for 6 hours:) Then I bagged all the hanging clothes which was 4 trash bags full and took them to the laundry room to be washed. I have to say after washing 4 loads and discovering that the ants were still alive even after a washing just made me sick, but after I stuck the clothes into the HIGH HEAT dryer they came out with not a single ant on them(so far:)). I have two more loads to do tomorrow, but for now the clothes are sealed tightly in trash bags in the laundry room. Oh What A Day!!!!! I think if I see any more ants I might be willing to just sell this house and buy a new one!!!! Or maybe it would be best to burn it down??? I know thats drastic, but its gone thru my head. These guys are so fast and get all over so quickly and I keep seeing them....kitchen curtain, bedroom curtain, climbing the door frame in the laundry room....you name it...its just out of control and I want them gone!! The terminex guy told me to call in 7 days if I still see them and they will come spray more. They said this will get under control and that they should and will get this problem solved. Now just HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE????? If you don't mind say a prayer or two that these ants go find another home to invade:)

10 comments:

emilykate said...

oh my word, that's terrible!

Mindy said...

Okay, that is seriously so gross! I feel so bad for you! That would just creep me out to see ants all over the place. I don't blame you for crying! I hope they are gone soon! On the bright side at least you will have a very clean house and clothes once they are all gone! Praying for your sanity...

Anonymous said...

That is such an awful story!! Regular ants would be bad enough, but fire ants?!!! I can't imagine :( I felt like crying w/ you! I'll be praying they are gone forever!!!
Love ya,
Bri

Miranda said...

We have the same problem but not with fire ants. Every year when spring hits we get these nasty ants that come crawling out from under the house through cracks and they go EVERYWHERE! I can't remember the exact name, Argentine or something, they have wings and are so disgusting. I have cried more then once! Sometimes it takes two treatments and sometimes one to get rid of them but they have come back every year for 4 years now. I used to try to kill them myself but now I know that the minute I see one I call the exterminator.Hope yours are gone within the week!
Miranda

Anonymous said...

Your update brought back memories. I remember as a kid visiting my grandpa and grandma down in Florida. The night we arrived, we were unpacking our van, and I got lots of bites from those fire ants...your right, they HURT when they bite! Hope they are all gone soon!! Jodi

Joan said...

Oh your poor dudette! YUK! YUK! YUK! Yes, I'll be praying they take a permanent hike, never to be seen or felt again!
Love you,
A Joan

S & L Gutwein said...

That stinks! I'm with Mindy, at least everything will be very clean now! Hope they are gone for good!

Anonymous said...

Sandra, can't hardly believe your aweful story! I was about crying for you. I HATE anything that is not supposed to be in my house...in my house. My sister-in-law had a RAT!...yes a rat. I told her that I would have moved away and never come back. - Heidi rinkenberger

L, Ann and boys said...

awwwww....icky. Don't burn the house down because somehow the rub is to much considering they're "fire" ant. They would probably have a huge festival to mark their great victory. You can beat them Sandra! =o)

Ann

Miranda said...

So was the exterminator successful in ridding you of the ants?