Invasion

Our house is one large room, two bedrooms, and a bathing closet (hole in the floor where water drains). Outside the door connected to the front is our "kitchen". It is a cement room with shelves on two walls, our gas stove top rests on a wooden chair, facing the only window. We store our pots and pans, our dry goods, and canned goods in our kitchen.

Every morning I get up, unbolt the house door, and step out into the early morning light. I unlock the kitchen, take out two basins and begin washing dishes as I wait for the milk man to come.

One morning I heard something in the kitchen, before unlocking and opening. I debated, wait and call someone to open it with me, open it and see what was making all the noise? I mentally ran through the list of possibilities: rats, roaches, birds, a wild critter... Deciding I could handle all of those possibilities I unlocked the door and swung it open.

I was not prepared for the sight before me. The floor was covered with three trailing columns of large ants. They had launched a multi- front attack on our sac of dried beans.

Now I wasn't about to head in there without backup, so I went and found the Head Master (who is also our neighbor) and asked him for advice. He came immediately and beat the sac with a broom, then hauled the bag outside. We dumped the beans out on a bamboo mat and stared in amazement as the bean pile seemed to move as the ants swarmed.

Leaving the ants we returned to the kitchen to sweep it out and then pour parafin on the remaining ants, covering the entry ways and path ways. Apparently that is the trick for invading army ants; they dont like parafin.

Now we all know... if you find yourself facing an invading army of ants, get a broom and parafin and the battle will be won.