Jul10

‘ants are the centaurs of their dragon world.’ – ezra pound

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after reading a funny mosquito battle story

posted by my blogging friend, mark from ‘Mark My Words’ 

https://markpetruska.com/2026/07/09/nobody-meshes-around-with-mark/

i was reminded of an epic insect battle i once had

when i was visiting and staying in the middle of a rain forest in costa rica

posted in july, three years ago

—

in all of the my recent time spent in the various forests and habitats

and all of my encounters with flora and fauna

(with each of them having powers much stronger than mine)

i never once had a situation where they were aggressive

or when i had to defend myself against any of them

until

one night in a rain forest hotel

with screened windows for an open cross breeze

perfect for sleeping

after hiking around all day

i at last laid down exhausted on my bed

only to feel something flying near my face

 jumping up and turning on a light

i noticed quite a few flying ants

buzzing around my room

and some walking ants marching around

who i strongly tried to encourage to leave my space

and then every time i would feel like i was in charge

i’d see a couple more casually strolling or flying by

from the corner of my eye

so i tried to figure out how they had gotten in

to find the source

 i remembered the humans telling us

not to leave our doors open for more than a minute

as all of the bugs, and perhaps a mammal, would feel free to visit

 i remembered talking to a fellow traveler

with my door open

just before going in to sleep

so perhaps the ant leaders and their minions had taken that as a welcome

as i looked around the room

i noticed some of the flying ones stuck inside of my lampshade

no doubt waylaid when trying to ‘go to the light’

and the marching ants seemed to be heading to my extra pillow

to join others who got there early to hang out in its case

  knew i had to take drastic measures

my survival skills kicked in

 i took the entire ant nightclub/pillow, case and all

 threw it in the shower

turned the water on high for a bit

(was i trying to drown them?)

 then tried to close them in the bathroom

by haphazardly/half-assedly (if it was a word)

closing the door and using bath towels to fill in the cracks

with a small crack to let a bit of light out to watch for others

not the best plan

(was i trying to imprison them?)

finally went to sleep

with one last solo flyer buzzing by

just to make his point

 when i woke up in the morning

none were to be found marching around or flying by

all quiet on the rainforest front

i’m sure they were resting after all of their late night hijinks

 i’m guessing whoever came to clean my room later

might wonder why

i had a drenched bed pillow in a case hanging to dry in the shower

with the door closed and towels all used

why my lampshade was filled with dried flyers

 if i get a bill for a replacement pillow

one day when i least expect it

perhaps in 3 years and a day

i will happily pay the bill

 it would be a small price to pay

for winning my battle

 the ants are probably laughing it off somewhere

taking showers

marching and flying as they please

knowing they actually won the battle

with only a few downed soldiers left behind

they’d find a new place to party the next night.

no doubt with replacements.

and the howler monkeys screeched out ‘good morning’ as only they can do.

“bugs are not going to inherit the earth. they own it now. so we might as well make peace with the landlord.”

– thomas eisner

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32 responses »

  1. I find ants fascinating, but not in the house, or flying around in my face at bedtime. I agree that it was worth a potential bill for a new pillow. Perhaps the shower drain was how they got into the room in the first place? That’s how we often find spiders in the bath.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  2. So vivid and so funny. I hope you tell your grandkids all these stories, Beth!

    Lots of things make sense in the middle of the night that don’t in the morning. 😊 A bill for a new pillow is worth it, if you got some sleep. Insects are fine outside, but I’m not a fan of them inside–especially anywhere near my bed!

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  8. Flying ants have unlocked a whole new nightmare.😳 I’ve had a few occasions involving bugs at night — they have been *extremely* bad for me and resulted in weeks of what I call the creepy crawlies. It takes a while to clear the feeling that something unwelcome is tiptoeing across my skin.

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  11. I’ve written before about my ant phobia, so I don’t think your reaction was the least bit over-the-top. My pillow would have been drenched too.

    Since this is a repost from three years ago this month, that bill should be showing up any day now.

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