I Blamed My Cat, and it was Monster Ants from Hell.
Poor Paddy was being blamed for something he didn’t do. I only have one real plant in the 40-foot RV that we now call home. I never had a live plant in the motorhome when we were just traveling, but this was now our permanent dwelling place. I had a small, hearty plant in a little koala bear planter in the laundry room of our California home, and I wanted to keep it.
Last July, we sold or gave away just about everything we owned to hit the road and escape the state of our birth. We’d pretty much decided on our last cross-country trip before returning to California to sell our home and everything in it. We talked to many full-timers that advised us not to keep anything in storage. “A year will pass, and you’ll realize you didn’t need any of that stuff anyway,” they would tell us. “It’s a total waste of money.”
We took the advice, and the small amount of stuff that we kept and didn’t fit in the motorhome is in a 20-foot trailer parked in Idaho. Since I have a black thumb, I didn’t have many plants to deal with. But, I loved my little koala bear planter and the cute little plant that I couldn’t seem to kill. It was small, and I liked having it on the counter next to our kitchen table.
About a month ago, I started noticing dirt all around the plant on the counter. I’d clean it up, and a while later, I’d see dirt again. I’d seen Paddy sniffing the plant, but I never saw him toss any dirt from it. However, I assumed that he must be the culprit. Who else could it be?
This morning, I noticed even more dirt than usual on the counter. I took the plant over to sink to water it, and as soon as I did, an army of HUGE ants came crawling out. I went berserk and hot-footed outdoors with it. I slammed the planter on our picnic table, and what looked like hundreds of those nasty ants were pouring out of it.
I got the ant spray and doused the planter, the plant, and the ants scurrying all over the table. I thoroughly soaked everything with the poison, and when I came back ten minutes later, there were still many ants crawling everywhere. These weren’t just creepy ants; they were hearty!
It was strange that SO many of them had been living in that tiny little plant, and we had no idea. Every once in a while, we’d see one of the ants in our bathroom or in the kitchen. The spottings were few and far between, but I always freaked out a little. These were the most enormous ants I’ve ever seen in my life, and they moved quickly. One would scurry underneath one of the pop-outs before I could grab a tissue to squash it with, and I’d wonder if we had an army of them in our storage bays. We checked them all, and not one ant could be found.
You may be wondering why I needed a tissue to squash an ant. These were not the minuscule black ones that I quickly swished with one finger. There were about ¼ of an inch long, black, red, and scary looking. For all I knew, they had stingers that would lead to a trip to the emergency room. Yes, that might be overkill, but these guys were nasty!
I write this hoping that someone can enlighten me about this indigenous creature in Florida. Apparently, the ants were multiplying inside of my planter. The dirt on my counter was from the ants pushing it out to accommodate more family members. I’m still creeped out about it. And I’m despondent that I have to give up my plant.
As I write this, it’s still sitting on the picnic table, and all of the inhabitants are dead. However, I can’t bring it back into the motorhome. I just can’t! I will probably find a spot in the campground to plant my hearty little green fella. That is, of course, if it’s still alive after being doused with poison. I’ll see how it looks tomorrow.
I’d love your input if you have information about these robust insects. I’m worried that we may fall prey to an unseen infestation. If you have a story about blaming your innocent pet for something they didn’t do, I’d love to hear from you too.
You can leave your comments here or email me at [email protected]
