Ants ate the Garage

Carpenter Ants - Squished AntIt’s amazing how quickly a “little” project can turn into something monstrous, like Teacher’s plan to finish painting the garage.

Last summer Teacher spent countless hours painting the house, and managed to paint the two sides of the garage that are in the play yard too. Of course my dad was a huge help, and I helped too, but neither of us worked as hard as Teacher did.

Toward the end of this summer Teacher and Dad planned to finish painting the garage. We all figured it would be a relatively quick job, compared to painting the whole house last summer.

We were wrong. So very, very wrong.

Before starting to paint Teacher and Dad had to fix a couple of holes in the siding right above the door.We thought they were water damage and would be as quick and easy to fix as the damaged boards on the house. Once Teacher and Dad started working they realized that the holes were just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Carpenter Ants - Destroyed BoardThe top two holes are the only hint we had of the horror that was hiding inside the walls.

 

Carpenter Ants - More DestructionWe were totally not expecting anything like this.

 

Carpenter Ants - Even More DestructionOh yeah, this is bad.

 

Carpenter Ants - Teacher Pulling Down a BoardTeacher continues exploring. Every time he pulls another piece of the garage off we hope we’ll find whole, untouched boards.

 

Carpenter Ants - More Ant TunnelsBut so far all he finds is more destruction.

 

Carpenter Ants - Dad Pulling Down a BoardMy dad is working on the other end of the garage, trying to determine how bad the damage is on that side.

 

Carpenter Ants - More Ant TunnelsHe’s not having any more luck than Teacher.

 

Carpenter Ants - Garage with Boards OffThe garage is being peeled apart layer by layer, like a huge ant-infested onion.

 

Carpenter Ants - More DestructionHow many ants were living in there, anyway?

Never mind, I don’t want to know.

 

Carpenter Ants - Whole Garage FrontThere are times I miss the days we rented… this is one of them.

 

Carpenter Ants - Dad Working on a BoardWell, the upper corner looks OK… I’m trying to find the silver lining, but it’s not working.

 

Carpenter Ants - Teacher Working on a BoardI think Teacher’s finally reached undamaged wood. Hooray!

 

Carpenter Ants - Squished AntYes, this ant is squished. Yes, I squished him myself. Yes, I enjoyed it. For the record, I don’t care what PETA thinks – those ants invaded my home and deserve to die!

 

Carpenter Ants - Dead Ants on GroundWhenever Teacher or Dad would pull down a new section of wood the ants would come swarming out. There were so many ants falling to the ground it was like a horror movie; Teacher and Dad had to jump back so they wouldn’t be covered with ants. Ewwwww!

 

Carpenter Ants - More Dead Ants on GroundI stood by with ant spray and got those suckers as quickly as I could. The ones I missed with the spray I hunted down and stomped on – it was a personal vendetta.

 

Carpenter Ants - Dead Winged AntWe had a bunch of these huge, winged ants too; I really enjoyed squashing them so they couldn’t fly away and start a new ant colony in someone else’s garage.

Die, ants, die!

 

Carpenter Ants - Ant TunnelsThe tunnels are amazing, but I’d appreciate them more if they were displayed in a zoo exhibit instead of our garage.

 

Carpenter Ants - More DestructionIt’s shocking that such a small creature can cause so much damage.

 

Carpenter Ants - GarageOur poor, poor garage.

On the bright side, there’s no-where to go but up, right?

 

Carpenter Ants - Covering the GarageBefore quitting for the day Teacher and Dad wanted to protect the wood in case it rained. Can you guess what they’re using?

 

Carpenter Ants - Roll of Waxed PaperIt’s a roll of waxed paper left from the days my great-grandpa used to work in a frozen vegetable factory! If you’ve ever bought frozen, chopped spinach in a box, this is the same kind of paper that’s on the outside.

 

Carpenter Ants - Turnip Greens PaperExcept it wasn’t spinach…

 

Carpenter Ants - Right Side Up PhotoChopped turnip greens – seriously?! I can’t believe that at one time chopped turnip greens were so popular a vegetable that they were mass-produced.

I’ve never had a turnip green – chopped or otherwise.

Have you?

Would you ever want to?

The garage saga will be continued…
Amy SueTurnip

One Comment

  1. Firstly, may I say that I learn something new everyday! I had no idea ants had wings. Also, I never knew ants can cause so much damage! I’m from Northern Ireland so this is all completely new to me. Good on you for squishing the little terrors. You can’t let such an evil little thing cause damage elsewhere!

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