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there are ants all over my room...

TheFoundTheFound
edited June 2012 in Buddhism Basics
I left the window open... now I have ants swarming on my desk and dresser and walls...
I kind of freaked out and started squashing them..now I feel like shit.. I haven't had to kill a bug or any creature for years since i started to practice hard...what choice do I have? was there a way i could have transported 100+ ants out of my room? shit..maybe a vacuum? if I dont act and kill them or transport them my Mom will absolutely show no mercy..and I think vacuum-ing a bunch of ants one by one is a little too hard for me...i have to sleep and go to work u know ..so what I'm doing is just saying sorry and squashing them with kleenex... what could i do...?

I know now to keep my window closed...
are ants sentient?

Comments

  • TheFoundTheFound
    this is really bugging me.. (no pun intended)
    they are really hiding them selves from my view now THEY KNOW it makes me feel so bad... Is my attachment to not killing causing me suffering? When's an appropriate time to kill?
  • PrairieGhostPrairieGhost Veteran
    Put a trail of jam leading a way away outside?
  • TheFoundTheFound
    this feeling of disharmony..I feel like I'm somehow disappointing the ONE/myself.. can I forgive myself for killing myself on that level?
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    edited June 2012
    Did they come in because of a food source. (like a sugar oriented drink?)
    You have a responsibility to not repeat this incident again if you can.
    Did you notice and follow a specific line of them going to a specific location..
    I have used a watery sugar mix just outside of an infestation area to specifically attract them back out side but then you will definitely need to keep your window shut after they leave until they no longer associate the area with food.

    You can also take the filter out of your vacuum, attach another vacuum hose to the vacuums outlet that then goes out the window and Voila.. Turn it on you've created your own instant ant transport system.
  • TheFoundTheFound
    yeah it's my fault I have delicious ant food all over my room... my ignorance is making me a mass murderer..
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator
    It might be tedious but you'd feel better and do the ants a favor to collect them unharmed. Ants are mostly attracted to sugar. Take a 2 liter soda bottle. Cut off the top about 1/3 of the bottle. Put the top part upside down inside of the bottom part (does that make sense? It's like putting a funnel into a glass) Tape the sections together. put something sugary inside. Most of the ants will get trapped, set the bottle outside and cut the bottom off so the ants can escape. Or, go to a kids toy store or even a walmart type store and get what is called a bug vacuum. Suck them up then release them outside.
  • TheFoundTheFound
    it's a bit late for the vacuum idea they have been decimated
  • TheFoundTheFound
    are they sentient?
  • LostLightLostLight Veteran
    They are considered sentient. I use a dust buster vacuum to catch and release bugs. About 90% of the bugs sucked up live, so I consider it the most effective and safe way to transport bugs, as opposed to the many hours it'd take to transport each individually.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    The earliest lesson I remember in empathy for bugs was when I was 7 in the backyard in summer, happily vapourizing ants with a magnifying glass. I looked up as my father who was walking by. He had stopped to look at what I was doing with kind of a sad look on his face.
    All he said was "Do you think they feel pain? ", and then walked on. I remember being simply staggered by the magnitude of what I'd been mindlessly doing.

    It made me watchful from then on, where I put my feet.
    hypocritical note..Mosquito's in my tent at night are mercilessly squashed but I do everything I can to not set up a situation where that happens.

  • TheFoundTheFound
    ok so I solved "my problem" i stopped snuffing them out in violent kleenex squashes..
    i just gave up...i saw one and i said ..screw it I won't keep killing you guys..
    just my initial reaction to them it wore off.... since then all the ants came to me, they stopped hiding as if they knew it was my resolve not to kill them again..it was quite beautiful..

    for about 140 minutes i haven't seen a single ant but i know i let many live..i feel ashamed of killing some in the first place..i should get a kick in the nuts eventually..
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    Clean every surface of your home thoroughly. Ants leave pheromone trails that they follow, find these (watch where the ants go) and any cleaning agent will destroy the trail making it so they have to send out scouts to find a food source again. Remove the aforementioned food source and the scouts will find nothing and the ants won't be interested in entering your home.

    If that fails I just lay out poison.
  • SileSile Veteran
    The sonic anti-rodent plug-ins actually work against ants for some reason, often. Not always, but sometimes the results can be quite spectacular.

    If you are a spiritual person, I highly recommend the following:

    1. Ask the ants to leave. Seriously--I've seen this work in multiple cultures, multiple religions, with multiple creatures (head lice [mine], snakes in woodpiles, etc.)

    2. Pray in whatever way you normally pray--offer incense, if you are Buddhist, and pray to the deity you feel closest to, or to the universe in general.

    3. Give the ants a few days.

    You can of course grease the wheels by following other advice in this thread--keeping surfaces clean, installing sonic devices, etc. But I have personally witnessed some amazing and rather mind-blowing creature exoduses after the spiritual approach.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    A personal back up to Sile's advise that I can't really explain.
    Years ago while living in a old two story log home, I started getting many large carpenter ants in the house. The house was slated to be demolished so I wasn't worried about the carpenter ant damage but I was concerned about stepping on them.
    I expressed my wish that if they stayed on the walls or baseboards, I wouldn't accidently step on them.
    From then on, for at least a year until I moved out, they never strayed onto the floors again.
  • KhmerBuddhistKhmerBuddhist
    Yes, creatures do understand human language. We think we are the only ones communicating. But, for some reasons, they do know you. I know I have not always been 100% conscious, but when I do, I ask them to leave or ask their forgiveness when I intentionally said something wrong, etc. For example, I used to have stray cats taking residence outside my home. I noticed the mother cat getting fatter and fatter (didn't know she was pregnant, lol) and on occassions fed her scraps. Then, the mother cat was no longer fat and for a few weeks later noticed kittens in front of my house. They used the underside of the ledge in front of my house as their nesting ground. The furry kittens were so cute! But as a Buddhist, it is my precept to not be attached to animals no matter how cute they are.

    I didn't mind them taking residence at my house, but they left pheremones which could be quite headachy. One day I commented on it and washed the floor. Then I realized perhaps I was sending them the wrong message, for they did disappear for a while. So, I asked for their forgiveness. I didn't mean it. I told them, I was just making the place better. They could come back if they wish. They did come back. But stray cats and as the kittens grow up, they must break away from the nest and make their own way. I miss them. Lolz. Sure, I'm not suppose to be attached. But consciously, I would not keep pets, though.
  • jlljll Veteran
    its not the ants' fault, its your fault.
    i had ants problems too.
    it was bcos i didnt keep my room clean.
    tiny bits of food , coffee spill attracts ants.
    so dont blame the ants.
    and dont give yourself excuses when you kill them.
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    You can also take the filter out of your vacuum, attach another vacuum hose to the vacuums outlet that then goes out the window and Voila.. Turn it on you've created your own instant ant transport system.
    Very Star Trek. :D
  • zenmystezenmyste Veteran
    edited June 2012
    I kind of freaked out and started squashing them..now I feel like shit..

    I know now to keep my window closed...
    are ants sentient?
    For me, Tigers are one of the most beautiful Enlightened Zen-like creatures ever.
    Most creatures in fact are very Zen and meditate all day and most of all they completely live in the NOW.. HOWEVER, if their gate was left open and you entered their home, im guessing they would also freak out and KILL you.. They'd probably eat you up to make sure there is nothing left of you..

    My point is; you freaked out and killed ants. Its not like killing them one by one was turning you on. You aint a mass murderer. Just be and accept. Always learn from every action.. Most importantly dont worry too much, buddha isnt gonna be mad at you or anything.

    If a tiger killed you, it wouldnt suffer afterwards. So why should you?

    Be a tiger my friend..
  • MaryAnneMaryAnne Veteran
    edited June 2012
    Oh for goodness sakes, people.... you're being teased! ::: shakes head:::

    Does Buddhism lead to gullible-ism?
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    I have made friends with the spiders in my house and sometimes they come out to watch television. :p
  • MaryAnneMaryAnne Veteran
    I have made friends with the spiders in my house and sometimes they come out to watch television. :p
    That's cool. What are their favorite shows? ;-)

  • BonsaiDougBonsaiDoug Simply, on the path. Veteran
    Oh for goodness sakes, people.... you're being teased! ::: shakes head:::

    Does Buddhism lead to gullible-ism?
    Where's that Like button when you need it?! :thumbsup:
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator
    there are natural products you can use that ants won't come near and wont hurt you or pets etc. Cream of tartar is one of them. There are others if you do a little research, just put a little line along where the ants come in, and they won't cross it. We do the same with feral cats and our garden. They hate marigolds. We plant marigolds in the corners/edges of the garden to keep them from using it as a litter box.
  • PrairieGhostPrairieGhost Veteran
    MaryAnne
    That's cool. What are their favorite shows? ;-)
    Fly-on-the-wall documentaries.
  • PrairieGhostPrairieGhost Veteran
    They freaked out a bit at The Poseidon Adventure though.
  • MaryAnneMaryAnne Veteran
    They freaked out a bit at The Poseidon Adventure though.

    Oh my! (stashes the DVD copy of "Arachnophobia"....)
  • PrairieGhostPrairieGhost Veteran
    edited June 2012
    Yeah, they find that movie very offensive.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    Oh for goodness sakes, people.... you're being teased! ::: shakes head:::

    Does Buddhism lead to gullible-ism?
    So what?
    It's a subject where folks get to exchange their observations with others..
    I'll leave the teasing concern for my ego to fret over.
  • MaryAnneMaryAnne Veteran
    Oh for goodness sakes, people.... you're being teased! ::: shakes head:::

    Does Buddhism lead to gullible-ism?
    So what?
    It's a subject where folks get to exchange their observations with others..
    I'll leave the teasing concern for my ego to fret over.
    Really? Is it better to let the ego "get busy" engaging in spiritual and philosophical pontification over the plight of dead ants, than to wonder about someone 'playing' with you?

  • PrairieGhostPrairieGhost Veteran
    edited June 2012
    It's easy to pontificate or comment about the pontifications of others when you haven't got jam all over your walls and windowsill after taking your own stupid advice.

    (see my first post)
  • MaryAnneMaryAnne Veteran
    @prairieghost

    LOL
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    MaryAnne
    That's cool. What are their favorite shows? ;-)
    Fly-on-the-wall documentaries.
    :D
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    edited June 2012
    I'm glad to see that some are willing to let ants "go".

    Feel the same about bedbugs?
    Poisonous snakes?
    Poisonous spiders?
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator
    A person can only do the best they can. Sometimes it's quite possible to catch and release animals, even pests. Sometimes it is not. I do think it's much easier to catch and release snakes and spiders (most of them) than say, an invasion of hundreds of ants or flies. We do not have poisonous animals like that here, so I can't definitively say what I'd do, but I'd make an attempt to let them go unless someone's health were in immediate danger, ie a snake preparing to strike at one of my kids. Bedbugs would be different, as are fleas, mites, lice etc. Not necessarily different as far as their value in life, but different in the possibilities of ridding your home of them without harming them. Generally the best course of action is prevention.
  • JohnGJohnG Veteran
    It's easy to pontificate or comment about the pontifications of others when you haven't got jam all over your walls and windowsill after taking your own stupid advice.

    (see my first post)
    :wtf:
  • JohnGJohnG Veteran
    I'm glad to see that some are willing to let ants "go".

    Feel the same about bedbugs?
    Poisonous snakes?
    Poisonous spiders?
    Bedbugs? In my domain they go immediatly to the deepest hell realm upon being found. Snakes, we got copperheads, rattlers, and such here in Pa., but, they are more benifical then a nuisanse; so we co-exist. Spiders; in the Slavic tradition spiders are a good omen in the house. During christmas, families look for their webs in their Christmas trees and throughout the house; meaning it will be a prosperous year. For writers, the spider is their muse; holding that spider was the orginator of the alphabet. For the proters the spider is their source of purpose; balancing the lines of humanity, just like a spider in it's web.

    :om:
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    I'm glad to see that some are willing to let ants "go".
    Poisonous snakes?
    Poisonous spiders?
    Fortunately England is very civilised and we don't have many of those.
    :p
  • TheFoundTheFound
    so there are a few more it's not such a problem anymore..

    Vinlyn asked about poisonous snakes, and spiders... obviously we know your point.
    I would dislike killing them just as much, but if I saw a black widow I might kill it quicker without being just....etc..

    but I just had a great realization.. part of our job is killing too.. every precept can be flipped and unavoidably applied.
    killing, stealing , lying , sexual misconduct and intoxication..
    if any of these are skilfully applied I believe they can have purpose..they just have a really low percentage of being skillful ...but u know if u only live in the 90% and don't understand the 10% first hand, how can u say that u are really 100%

    i have a feeling if u are TOO pure you can't realize enlightenment..

    i remember hearing someone say something like, realization of delusion is enlightenment, realization of enlightenment is delusion.. or something..


  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    .. part of our job is killing too..
    It isn't part of my job. ;)
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