A Small Invasion

For the last week my husband and I have been dealing with a small invasion of ants in our home. At first, I thought we only had a few scouts wandering along our kitchen windowsill. The next day I noticed several more ants, but thought we only had a small group temporarily taking shelter from a recent rainstorm. When I came down to the kitchen Monday morning, though, I was horrified to find the entire wall behind the sink covered with tiny, black, crawling creatures. At that point, it was war.

I spent about half an hour that morning with a bottle of kitchen cleaner and several paper towels trying to clear away all the ants I could see. I think I killed at least 70 along the wall, and caught about 20 more running along the counters. I moved books, dishes, containers, and the toaster oven trying to eradicate the tiny invaders, but every time I thought I had cleared an area, another ant would appear. I finally stopped cleaning because I had to get ready for work; even though I had been in the kitchen for half an hour, I still hadn't made myself breakfast, much less eaten it. By that time, though, I had begun to imagine ants crawling in my food, silverware drawer, and cabinets -- even though I had not actually found any in those places -- and I really wasn't in the mood to eat.

About the time I quit cleaning the kitchen, my mother arrived to babysit my son. She glanced at the kitchen and marveled at how neat everything was. Sheepishly, I told her why the kitchen looked so clean. I was relieved when she told me she and my father had frequently faced the same problem and that the ant infestation was not due to my poor housekeeping skills. I told her that I felt somewhat guilty for killing so many little creatures who were just exploring a new place looking for food, but that I did not want them to spread through the rest of the house. I did not want them to get into the food areas, and I especially did not want them to get into my son's room where they could crawl into his nose or ears or bite him. My mother replied that my killing the ants was helping them move on to their next incarnations and added that when Chinese people slaughter chickens they traditionally tell them, "Life as a chicken is very hard; let me end your life now so that you can go on and be reborn as a pampered child of rich parents." What would an ant become when it is reborn, I wonder?

Currently my husband and I have several ant bait traps placed at strategic intervals around the house. The traps are filled with poisoned bait that the ants are supposed to take back to their nest and unwittingly feed the rest of their family. Tonight we also bought a chemical spray that is supposed to keep killing ants even four months after we use it and have spread some of it in the crevices we believe the ants are using to enter the house. I feel a little guilty that we are resorting to trickery and chemical warfare to kill these little creatures, but they have invaded our home and we must defend it. If we were to step on their anthill, these ants would have every right to attack us in self-defense. But right now they are the invaders, so they must pay the price for crossing our threshhold.