22 Sep 08: Running Amok

I had 2 months of co-existence with the ants living on top of my cupboard. I got used to seeing them come in from the window every night. They started to venture into my bathroom but I learnt to avoid stepping on them when I got up in the morning. They were gone by the time I got home from practice and only re-appeared at night. As long as they stayed out of my cupboard, I could deal with it.

Part 1 – War on Terror:
It all changed one rainy night a week ago. I was a bit freaked out by the number of ants crawling in when it was only 7pm. My housemate, James, advised me to ask my landlord Suresh to take a look. He came, armed with a can of spray … the beginning of War. He made 2 mistakes:
i) The can was only 1/3 full
ii) Bedtime was not the best time to be dousing my room with insecticide

After 15 minutes, Suresh came out of my room to say, ”I’ve done all I can. I don’t have any more spray. I don’t think you can sleep in there tonight”. My reaction - “What?! You gotta be joking”. He wasn’t. The ants were running amok inside, some dead, some dying, a lot just running.

We closed my bedroom door and barricaded the bottom with cloths to prevent the ants from escaping. Suresh estimated about 1,000 or so ants were in the nest.

Part 2 – Casualties of War:
After spending the night on my couch, in the same clothes I’d been in the day before, I ventured into my room the next morning to get ready for practice. Suresh told me I’d see a lot of dead ants … and I did. Hundreds at the bottom of my cupboard.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the number of ants that were still alive. Because he didn’t have enough spray, hundreds more were everywhere. They were on the floor and walls of my bedroom as well as my bathroom. Even on my bed. I heard a crunch every time I took a step.

There was no time to do much other than sweep up as many ants as I could (dead and alive). The broom was embedded with ants as I had to swat many of the ones who refused to submit.

Part 3 – No Mercy:
I reckon sweeping is the best warm-up because I had the most amazing practice I’ve had since coming to Mysore that morning. I went on a cleaning frenzy when I got back. A lot of the ants had disappeared so I swatted and swept the rest. Then I mopped the floor and stripped all my bedding (giving thanks for my washing machine).

The next few days were spent getting rid of the rest of them (a few had sneaked into my cupboard to hide). No more Ahimsa (non-violence). I was so traumatised that I now squashed without mercy.

Part 4 – Under attack … again:
I came back late Friday night (no practice Saturday) to discover a stream of ants coming in from the window and disappearing under my bed. They were definitely building another nest as some carried bits of rice and others, white bits (James told me it was their eggs).

I was horrified and very upset. Building a nest on the other side of the room was acceptable but I could not live with them running all over my bed! It was also getting very tiring killing ants night and night.
The next day I told Suresh that he had to do something and since I’d be away Sunday night, he could spray to his heart’s content.

Part 5 – All clear?
I came back Monday evening to find my room clear. Suresh told me he’d also cut off the branches outside my window so they couldn’t crawl up. None came in Monday night and I had to kill a few the next morning but that was nothing compared to previous days. I started to relax a bit.

Part 6 – Moving out
I think the ants know my schedule. James said that after I left for practice, he discovered a trail of ants coming out from under my bed, crossing the corridor into the kitchen, up onto the counter and disappearing behind the cabinet.
He said they were very orderly about it. He hoped they’d be done by the time I came back since my mental state was already very fragile when it came to the discovery of ants. Thankfully, I remained blissfully unaware of the move whilst I made my morning chai in the kitchen.

Part 7 –Baygon – weapon of mass destruction
James helped me move the wooden ‘table’ from under my mattress out to our terrace. The ‘table’ is actually half a door nailed onto some wood to form a support for my mattress which is too wide for the bed-frame. He then proceeded to spray the ‘table’ … and in the next 15 minutes, about another 100 ants came popping out. He apologised to them as he sprayed. I, on the other hand, had no sympathy.

Is there a Part 8? I hope not. As I write this, James has taped up the sides of the kitchen cabinet and poked a hole to spray insecticide inside the ‘trap’ he’s made. Maybe this will be the start of a whole other episode …Episode II, Part 1?