I decided to sweep the back deck today, or a part of it, at least, and I wanted to put the umbrella back into the glass-topped table. Mr. kenju took it out last week when we had a threat of thunderstorms with hail and 58 mile per hour winds; he laid it on the deck, wedged in between the posts and the table.
Picking it up off the deck, I decided I had better lean it up against the house and clean the table first. Something fell out of the umbrella, and I saw a few ants. I shook the umbrella post on the deck and out fell hundreds of huge black ants and at least 1,000 eggs. Gross was not a strong enough word for it! I quickly put the umbrella out in the grass below the deck, intending to wash it later today when it is not so blessed hot. Then I had to sweep all the ants and their eggs off the deck. The eggs cooperated, but the ants kept climbing back onto the deck looking for their babies. I almost felt something akin to sympathy for the little mothers, but then common sense took over and I set about sweeping them furiously and with a vengance! Have you had a bug encounter lately?
P.S. This is not my photo. As usual, I got it off the web.
18 comments:
I livein a forrest, so I have bug encounters constantly. For ants, get Terro. It will attract ants, but a day or two later, they are all back in their nest, and dead.
That is horrendous!!!! I was noving a case of cat foor from inside my house to outside and one of the little cans seemed to be stiuck and I saw this white something or other...When I moved the can, this big fat spider ran out...I had disturbed her nest...UGH.....I'm glad I put this box outside!!!
ewww... gross. Why is it that ants turn up in the most bizarre of places. The only bug encounter of note that I've had has been a positive one: my husband and I saw ladybugs everywhere while we were waiting to see if our IVF cycle worked. Turns out, ladybugs are a sign of good luck, and in Italian culture (both my husband and I are Italian) they're symbols of fertility. And luck be a lady...bug, the cycle worked!
My father-in-law used to say, "If it lives in Texas it either has thorns, or it bites or stings."
Seems true, most often. But I'd take your big black ants over our red fire ants any day. Sympathy? Uh uh.
John
I think what you needed was a fire, not a broom. Ugh.
Yes, I had many years ago a similar ant encounter. Near my house, we have literally a "river" of ants. It was really amazing and scary! They were moving to another nest.
Oh YUK is right! And no, I'm happy to report no bug encounters like that!
GREAT shot of the ants and the eggs though. Wow!
Are their eggs really that big? Ick.
our bug encounter was Rufus, the ladybug.
Our very large spiders eat our bugs. We do have slug encounters, but, trust me, you don't want to hear about them!
NO sympathy for those muthas at all!!!
Ants are varmits and a pain,
but they and bees facinate me. They are very organized!
OK, so first i saw the any larva, then I scrolled down and saw the sausages for a second thought it was some other kind of larval thing. Icky.
We're having a spider infestation here at the moment. In the bedroom, too- it is perfectly horrid. SO I feel your pain about the bugs.
I agree. I'm totally creeped out. The could be beautiful little semi-precious gems...rose quartz and garnet, but we KNOW what they are! EEEWWW.
We had bees make a hive in the cable box, the mailman refused to deliver mail to us until we got rid of them. Luckily, a beekeeper wanted the hive and got them to move into a wooden box. At least those ants weren't fire ants. My husband planted tomatoes and I dread those ugly worms that seem to show up. yuck.
90% of my blog is about my hate/hate relationship with bugs. I didn't mean for it to be that way. I'm sure I'm projecting some other insecurity onto the poor little creepy crawlies. But until I get it figured out, I'll stamp on them with out mercy and run screaming when I'm not wearing shoes.
I took a bunch of pictures this weekend of bugs, Judy. They don't bother me unless they crawl on my skin. Then I don't like them anymore! They make very interesting photographic subjects though. They look so alien!
Dad is trying to grow a collard plant that survived the winter for seed. White butterflies keep flitting down and laying eggs on it and these little very hungry caterpiller are eating the leaves. Two different types of caterpiller are trying to eat their way through the plant now. We spray, they go, butterfly comes, they come back. Next step, netting to keep the butterfly away.
geez - as a matter of fact yesterday i had an odd encouter. A not so small black spider was crawling up my wall. I was just about to kill it and the rascal fell to the ground behind my desk and escaped. As I looked down at my desk, I saw an unrelated ugly looking brown spider and that bastid scurried under the desk at warp speed as I was about to snuff the life out of his 8 legs. What are the odds. I see a spider maybe every few months.
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