Termites! AARRGGHHH!!!

Yep, we've got 'em.

Never in my life have I had termites...until yesterday. I was sitting here at the computer when I noticed one of my cats playing with something on the carpet, so I investigated. A funny little bug. No problem. I scooped it up with a kleenex and gave it a burial at sea....my cats don't usually eat the bugs, they just play with them. Well....except for Butterscotch. Sometimes he slurps them up before I have a chance to scoop them up. Xtra protein, dontcha know? Anyway, to get back on track here....I come out from the bathroom to find Sassy staring intently at something on the carpet, so once again I check it out. ANOTHER one of those funny little bugs....hmmm....oh wait, there's another one....and another....and more! Oh CRAP! What ARE these??? There's LOTS of bugs crawling around my carpet! CRIPES! How do I get rid of them? What the h-e-double hockey sticks ARE they???

So, I did all I knew to do....I grabbed the can of ant spray and sprayed not only parts of the carpet (away from my kitties, of course) but the window sill as well, then I hauled out my vacuum and started sucking those lil suckers up! I did manage to scoop 5 or 6 into a zip lock baggie, and had NO idea what to do with them at that point but to show Jim when he got home from work. So I stuck the nasty little critters OUTside, and vacuumed up their relatives.

Jim sees them and says, 'Looks like termites to me'...oh great, just what we need.

Off to Kmart I trot, and got some super-duper (I hope!) bug killer that includes termites...sprayed some inside, and will souse the outside once the winds calm down...

So today I make the trek down the hill (my 4th trip in 2 days) to Lloyd Pest Control in El Cajon, with my little baggie of bugs. I can't believe that after nearly 24 hours, 2 of the 5 are STILL alive! Sure enough, termites....UGH! It's swarming season, the guy says. Also said they could be just passing through, or we could have an infestation (Oh Lord, PLEASE no!) but they set me up with a free termite inspection 2 weeks from now. In the meantime, he says, my super-duper bug spray will keep them at bay, but ultimately won't irradicate them altogether.....

Got back up the hill a little while ago, and did the only thing I could think of to make me feel better about this situation. I went to Mickey D's and got me a vanilla soft serve cone. I earned it. Then I laughed, because I remember Shannon writing in her blog recently that sometimes I'd surprise them after school and them them to Mickey D's for a treat, and she recalled how funny it was that I always had to lick my cone fast to keep it from melting while I was driving home....well Shannon, some things never change...LOL...thx for the chuckle!

Blessings to you~