# Ants! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553 "2005-12-14T07:26:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/1 "2005-12-14T07:26:22Z")
After spending the day out of town visiting a friend, and after the long drive home, you know what’s not fun? Spending an hour fighting back an ant infestation that wasn’t there when you left. Damn little bastards. We went from “nothing” to “ants all over the bathroom floor, out into the hall, and into the cat’s food and water” in about nine hours while we were out. My wife and I just finished stomping, squishing, mopping, cleaning the cat’s dishes and moving them to a new location, and setting out traps, but they’re coming out of the damned wall so we’re bound to have more in the morning. God, I hope we don’t have to get the building super to have someone spray in here. Now, three hours of scratching phantom itches before I can get to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/2 "2005-12-14T11:16:18Z")
It’s amazing how ants can come out of nowhere. A few months ago, I stayed at a hotel. Nice, clean place, not a complaint in the world. I ate a candy bar and tossed the wrapper in the garbage can, and went out for the night. Got back a few hours later and there was a huge, undulating mass of ants around the garbage can - the candy wrapper was barely visible. Needless to say, I switched rooms, and refused to eat anything in the room, but I was just stunned at how quickly it went from “no ants at all” to “massive ant invasion”. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/3 "2005-12-14T19:14:40Z")
We had the same problem this past weekend. Ant invasion! We put out ant traps and they’re nearly gone now. I saw one in the kitchen this morning (squish!), but that’s it. I’m just glad the traps are as effective as they are. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/4 "2005-12-14T19:19:11Z")
My department has been fighting an ant invasion all semester. You squish them in one room and they pop up in a different room. Making a line to the garbage can, carrying off bread crumbs, and generally acting like they own the place. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/5 "2005-12-14T19:56:44Z")
When I was in college we had a soup vending machine. One time I chose chicken soup from the machine, and the soup poured out into the cup complete with dozens of teeny ants swimming around in it. That was the first and last time I used that machine. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/6 "2005-12-14T19:59:56Z")
Have to go to the anteater breeder. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/7 "2005-12-14T20:04:24Z")
Heh… try having a nest of fireants move into the driver’s seat of your car. :eek: Several years ago, I drove up to the family cabin for the weekend. While I was there, a nest of ants moved into my car. On the drive back to Austin, I got stung a few times by the little bastards. I thought at first that it was just one or two stowaways, but I kept seeing more and more (and the number of stings kept increasing). Finally, I cleaned out my back seat- they must’ve been attracted by some trash on the floorboards behind my seat. As soon as I started moving the trash, they swarmed. They’d moved into the cushion of the driver’s seat- no wonder I kept getting stung. Screw that. I set off a bug bomb in my car, and that took care of 'em. Now I keep the interiors of my vehicles very, very clean. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/8 "2005-12-14T20:14:08Z")
I, for one, welcome our– Ow! Ouch! Stop hitting me! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/9 "2005-12-14T20:14:45Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > I, for one, welcome our– > > Ow! Ouch! Stop hitting me! I’m floored it took so long for that joke to appear. Floored! ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/10 "2005-12-14T20:29:29Z")
[pauses to hit **Ponder Stibbons**] > [@Lightnin'](#): > > Heh… try having a nest of fireants move into the driver’s seat of your car. :eek: No, thank you! :eek: indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/11 "2005-12-14T20:30:58Z")
There were some tiny brown ants once on the computer desk at my parents’ place near New Orleans. The little buggers were after bits of my skin that had peeled off from a sunburn! That and the time I left a bunch of cornnuts out in the open in my room were the only times I ever saw these particular ants. They didn’t seem interested in anything else in the house. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/12 "2005-12-14T20:40:17Z")
My mom (Seattle) sent me a picture of ants in her entertainment center. I couldn’t even see the VCR for the little buggers. She must have tossed about 50 tapes. She hired an exterminator who came by regularly, but there were always ants, although not as bad as the first time. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/335553/13 "2005-12-14T22:11:33Z")
You think you have it bad? One night, I got home late, went immediately to my bedroom, stripped down to my birthday suit, climbed into bed, kicked the sheets and blanket out, started drifting off, and then…hey, what was- ow! OW! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! Yeah, in the course of the work day, a _fire ant_ infestation had moved into my bedroom. Just my bedroom. Primarily, my bed, between the sheet and the comforter. I had 37 fire ant bites on my poor, tender bod. Two of them on my right nipple. I slept on my couch the rest of the night.