Recently, my house was invaded by ants.
At first, I only noticed one or two here and there.
Before long, however, they seemed to be everywhere.
My home used to be a garage attached to an apartment building, and because it is in direct contact with the ground, all kinds of insects tend to find their way inside.
To some extent, I believe in coexistence.
My home used to be a garage attached to an apartment building, and because it is in direct contact with the ground, all kinds of insects tend to find their way inside.
To some extent, I believe in coexistence.
Besides, dealing with bugs is a hassle, so I ignored them for quite a while.
Then one day, I reached for the refrigerator door and felt something moving beneath my hand.
I let out a yelp and jerked my hand away.
It was an endless procession of ants.
At that moment, I thought:
"Something must be done..."
So I asked Masujiro what to do.
He basically said, "Ant poison. One shot and they're done."
(Well, maybe not in those exact words.)
So I went to Karwei and bought this:
Later, I checked the reviews on Amazon.
It had a rating of only 3.3 stars.
Not particularly impressive.
Still, in my case, it worked remarkably well.
It had a rating of only 3.3 stars.
Not particularly impressive.
Still, in my case, it worked remarkably well.
Inside the box is a poisonous bait that gives off an irresistible scent.
The ants gather around it, carry it back to their nest, and supposedly wipe out the entire colony in the process.
And indeed, within less than three days, the ants simply vanished.
And indeed, within less than three days, the ants simply vanished.
The bait boxes are still sitting in the corner of my kitchen and beside my front door.
Whenever I see them, I find myself wondering:
Did every last ant really die?
And if some survived, how must they be feeling?
From their perspective, none of it could possibly have made sense.
Believing they had struck gold, they worked tirelessly to carry the treasure back to the nest.
As a result, their entire colony was annihilated.
As a result, their entire colony was annihilated.
Perhaps an aging worker ant, no longer young, looked out over the countless bodies of its fallen companions and cried:
"Why? What did we do wrong?"
He was an ordinary worker ant.
Neither particularly ambitious nor exceptionally loyal.
He bore no ill will toward anyone.
For the sake of the queen and the prosperity of the colony, he ventured out in search of resources.
He discovered what seemed to be a gold mine and carried its riches home.
Surely he had dreams.
There is an abundance of resources here.
Our children and grandchildren will never know hunger.
Future generations will flourish.
Year after year, the colony will grow larger and stronger.
Yet the price of that dream was unimaginably high.
By sheer chance, he escaped death, but his dark eyes dart nervously around the ruins.
Nothing makes sense anymore.
What should he have done?
How should he live now?
He looks toward the heavens and prays:
"Oh God, oh God. Why? Why have You placed such a trial before us?"
And then God, looking down from a height beyond the ant's comprehension, mutters in a language the ant cannot understand:
"Sorry, I just didn't want ants in my kitchen."
Anyway, I'm not sure there's any grand lesson to be learned from all this.
But if I had to make one point, it would be this:
This ant bait really works.
Excellent value for money.
Highly recommended!
