I have ants in my pan…Castle. I saw my first ant yesterday, but I didn’t think much of it. When I arrived home today, I started seeing more. They’re large, black ants, and they’re congregating in the kitchen, and along the stairs leading up to the third floor. I found a few in the first-floor living room (both of the winged variety, which means they were searching for new areas to establish colonies), but none on the third floor (so far). I don’t like bugs. I had an incident with termites in Houston that freaked me out. Now that I’m in the Castle (and own it), the freak-level is much higher. I’m planning to call an exterminator first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll hopefully be able to set up an appointment for this week, so they can start exterminating. I’m not sure how well I’m going to sleep imagining those black crawly things all over the Castle.

My vacuum is plugged in and patrolling the second floor area. I’ve vacuumed up at least thirty bugs so far, and I think I could spend all night sucking up the critters and making little progress. The pile of wood behind my house will have to go because they like damp wood, and seeing as the tarp covering my wood pile is now holey (thanks to the rain and wind), the wood is damp and probably rotting, a perfect nest for them. From what I’ve read, ants don’t usually cause permanent damage unless you fail to treat them. I do have concerns, however. A potential buyer put in an offer for the Castle about a year and a half ago. The offer fell through after the inspection because, the owner told me, the buyer found carpenter ants. Some of the wood siding of the Castle—particularly near the windows and doors—has started to rot and is most likely damp from the rains. I was going to wait until the summer to have it repaired and repainted, but I may have to accelerate those plans.

I’m bug hunting every fifteen minutes. I’m trying not to get addicted to it, but it’s greatly satisfying to suck them up in my vacuum, make them pay for annoying me, and taking time away from other things. I’ve gotten good at killing the ants with my shoe without creating a brown splotch mark on my floor or rug. I’m feeling itchy.