Ant Rant

[summer_jackel]

I am so COMPLETELY grossed out and upset with myself right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for the last couple of weeks, I've been noticing an ant or three near (but never in) Fractal, my juvenile Brazillian rainbow boa's, terrarium. Since we've been fending off ants all winter, I didn't think much of it.

Today, however, I noted that there were more than a few, and investigated. It turns out that there was a *WHOLE NEST* of the abhorrant little bastards under Fractal's box! ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! All crawling with lots of eggs!!!!

So I dealt with it. An hour or so later, here we are.

I am seriously grossed out. This from a woman who collects road kill, enjoyed watching her hand get stitched up after the last major injury, and likes to watch surgery on TV. When you kill and clean up that many ants it leaves...matter.

Thank all that's holy that they did not hurt my poor snake. None were in her box, actually---that would have set off major alarm bells---but for how long were they there that they had time to make such a big nest, so close to her? I feel totally irresponsible. Fractal's fine, though, and got a cleaned box out of it.

I now resolve henceforth to be less of a slob. (I can hear Chris cheering now and rushing to get that in writing.)

*shudders all over and trys to forget the sight of an ant nest in her bedroom*

I'm gonna go see Kill Bill tonight. Suits my mood. Should improve it, though.

Comments

[martes.livejournal.com]

So you looked under the box and saw zillions of ants!!!

Nothin' a little boiling water won't fix!

zillions of Ants!!!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and all thier larvae and pupae, too. :x :x :x

Boiling water...hmm, didn't think of that. I used vinegar and this citrus-based window cleaning stuff that really killed them nicely. Still..ugh.

I did think of you, though, and that lovely little ant icon you use. ;) I figured that you would like this story.
ick!!

Meows

[mooncatx.livejournal.com]

Probably a new queen ant ended her mating flight in your bedroom and found the space beneath your terrarium, and that was history.

I know the iggy feeling you have though, because I get the same thing with wasp nests ever since my father used a garden hose to wash one out from my bedroom window. Mud wasps had made a hive between the screen and glass, and the wet hive was on the lawn/sidewalk and it had larvae in the little chambers, and that just creeped me out. I don't know why but larvae just give me the willies.

Must be an atavistic reaction. Something primal. It's completely illogical as they have no limbs, and no biting teeth, but they are just sooooo ucky!

In related news, a friend of mine is learning maggot therapy as part of her hospital duties >^@@^< and tells me all sorts of interesting things. eek!

Poor baby. You should have had the male clean out the yucky bugs. That is why we keep males! tsk...

*kitty kisses for jackel*

>^,,^<

scootles off to dip truffles... bye the bye, I hope you like nuts, cus some of them are going to be dipped.

Re: Meows

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

ooOOOOOOoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! truffles? For meeeeee?

heh...well, the male was off at the doctor's (again) when I discovered the Problem, and thus I could not pawn it off on him. I was furious and worried about Fractal and wouldn't have waited anyhow. I have a way stronger stomach and higher tolerance for gross, too, and since the snake is mine...and the reason the ants liked the spot is because it had a nice warm heating element and was moist from me misting her every day...it was kinda my responsibility to deal with. *siiiigh* I hate being an honerable person sometimes.

OK...maggot therapy. I think I need to have this explained to me. Please tell me how maggots can possibly be theraputic, m'dear. Generally finding them in living organisms is a Bad Thing. (remind me to tell you the Sheep Sheep story some time.)

Re: zillions of Ants!!!

[martes.livejournal.com]

Boiling water is my ant-kill of choice in the kitchen. Doesn't stop them from coming back, but boy, it does kill them instantly!

Re: zillions of Ants!!!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

and that odd feeling of delight you get pouring boiling water over ants has nothing to do with it, right? ;D

So, have you finally decided if it is "a chorus line" or "a conga line" yet?

Re: Meows

[mooncatx.livejournal.com]

Specially bred maggots are put into wounds to eat away the flesh that is dead, and other bad stuff in the wound, leaving only fresh healthy flesh that will heal. I'm not sure of the details, but it's important to immediately get rid of any rotting flesh on a living organism or it will lead to gangreen and bad stuff that can kill you, so the little maggots are doing a good thing.

In other news, was watching PBS the other day, and one part was about hornets and showed the pulsating larvae in their combs... O_o .... ooogie!!!! It's not that they are larvae, but that they are MOVING... the pulsing bit is what sends that creepy feeling though a person. If they were still and sort of lay there, I'm sure I wouldn't have igged. But they MOVE!

sigh...
mc
>^,,^

Re: Meows

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

hmmm...now that you mention it, that makes a lot of sense. The maggots would know living from dead flesh much more sensitively and at a finer micro-level than a doctor with a scalpel. Actually, the more I think about this concept, the more I like it. It's even giving me story ideas, which is...probably a very bad thing, I'll admit.

They'd have to be watched so carefully, though, because maggots will eventually create more dead flesh if left alone...it's a fairly common problem in sheep, thus the infamous "Sheep Sheep story." Wherein one of my old high school teachers picked up his pet sheep at scruff and butt to stick her in the truck to take her to the vet, not knowing why she was acting sick. When her *entire back* came off in his hands, revealing the squirmy mess beneath...well, one can imagine that Robert was sufficiently squicked. So were we, in his science class getting to hear about it. :P And one of my former classmates delights in tormenting his online buddies with this tale. Sheep Sheep had to be put down.

And I know a dog groomer who found maggots in a dog's paws where embedded foxtails had been left to fester. :P

Ok, that's more than enough from me on this topic this morning. larvae=eeeewwwwww. Unless it's medical. then larvae=coooooool. >;D