Small biting ants are officially the most irritating animal I’ve encountered in Kenya.
An ant army in the kitchen.
I woke up this morning, as usual, to the generator’s beat. It was still pretty dark outside, but I figured I could see well enough to spot any predators lurking in the bush. I slipped on my flip flops and padded out to the toilet without bothering to bring along a flashlight. My mistake. Within a nanosecond of sitting down on the pot, stinging sensations erupted on my feet and calves. What the heck! The biting and pain spread rapidly up my legs onto my seat and then onto my arms and shoulders. I started swatting at the unseen attackers and quickly realized they were ants – and they were everywhere. Unfortunately, when you’re doing your business in the morning, it isn’t that easy to leap up and run. I was frantic by the time I got back to the bedroom, leaping around, ripping off my PJ’s and squashing ants on every surface of my body. John lay there laughing. When he went out to the bathroom he took along a big can of Doom Power Insect Spray to clear the way. I’m going out to surround the toilet enclosure with hot ash, the local remedy for an ant army.
Use your imagination.
I was not laughing!
OMG!! I am SO glad I am not there. That’s positively gross!! Especially that last photo. I experienced those bites. But just a few. You must have been going insane!!
How rude indeed! Are they everywhere? The face of Kenya certainly seems to change from week to week.
How rude indeed! Are they everywhere ? Amazing how the face of Kenya changes from week to week.
Sounds worse than the mysterious flying insects that emerged out of the thatched roof. Now it is abundantly clear why the former occupants left behind so many cans of insect poison.
I hadn’t heard of hot ash used to prevent ants. I used dawn dish washing liquid when camping. The don’t like to cross it. And it breaks up the pheromone trail.
I hope you have something to treat the bites.
hugs
OMG! Rude is not the word I would use for it. Holy crap that is gross. Yikes!!!
I saw a documentary some time ago that posited red army ants to be the largest and most formidable army on the planet. I hate them.