Lesson Learned

One more thing I hate about this miserable place is the ANTS!! They are everywhere! Seriously. Our front flower beds look terrible because every time we attempt to weed them we are immediately attacked by red ants. We just gave up. But the only place we had seen them was the front yard.

Anyhooo...I've always been concerned about Jacob and his fascination with spiders and bugs, simply because we have some not so friendly ones around the house. I am always finding him trying to catch bugs. I've even had to stop him from going after the bees. I am constantly telling him not to touch bugs because some of them can hurt him. But Jacob is one that has to find things out for himself.

We finally paid professionals to come spray in and around the house because of all the ants and spiders. I was mostly concerned because I had been seeing black widows around. After they came we did see fewer spiders and bugs. So, I haven't been real worried.

If you've kept up with my blog for a while, then you know how much Jacob LOVES digging in the dirt. I was worried when we first moved here because there were ant piles EVERYWHERE in our back yard. Fortunately they were just the tiny little harmless ones. So when Jacob would start digging up their mounds they would just run away.

Well, today Jacob went out into the back yard to play and about 15 minutes later I hear him start crying, then screaming. Those of you who have kids know that your children have different cries. And Jacob has a very distinct "I'm really hurt" cry. So I hear that cry and I go running out into the back yard. I see him come around the side of the house and he's screaming, "BUG! BUUUUUUG!" and holding out his hand. I thought he must have caught a bee and got stung or something, but as he got closer to me I could see he was COVERED in ants. I new right way that they were red ants. I attempted to wipe them off but they were attached and wouldn't let go. So I grabbed him and carried him as fast as I can into the house and into the tub and stripped him down. They were even in his diaper, poor kid. So, I grab a wash cloth, turn on the water and start washing them all off him. They came off pretty easily that way. But he was freaking out and kept trying to climb out of the tub because he could see them in the tub. The poor kid was terrified. I finally got them all off him and let him climb out of the tub onto a towel I had spread out on the floor where I could dry him off and inspect the damage. The poor kid is COVERED in bites. He cried, and cried for at least half an hour. I gave him some Ibuprofen to help with the pain and then slathered him in hydrocortizone cream. Once I got the cream on him he seemed to do much better. Here are some pictures I snapped of his arms and legs. He wasn't real excited about me taking picture of him so they aren't very good but they will have to do for now.

This leg is the worst. Like I said these pictures aren't very good so you can't see just how bad it really is. His leg is ENTIRELY covered in bites. From his thigh to his ankle.

Fortunately he only got a few bites in his diaper area and his trunk, neck and head were spared of any bites at all. But I guess now he knows, not all bugs are friendly. Maybe now he will be less likely to go after every bug he sees.

After I had him settled down and taken care of I went in search of the offending ant pile. I found it. It was HUGE and I could tell that he had obviously tried to dig in it. So, now my goal is to annihilate every last one of them. I put down a baking soda and powdered sugar mixture for now, because that's all I had on hand (supposedly the baking soda is supposed to react with whatever acid they have in their stomachs and they explode. I doubt it works but it was worth a try). Tomorrow, first thing, I will be going to the store to bring out the big guns. The will DIE!!!