I’m just dropping in quickly today to have a rant whinge about something on my mind – while confessing to YET ANOTHER phobia.

Ants.

I hate the bloody things.

I don’t know why. I know they’re essentially harmless but they just freak me out.

When I come across them I do my bit to further destroy the ozone layer by spraying them TO DEATH with whatever fly or insect spray is on hand. I once even used perfume in the absence of insect repellent.

I know my brother and sister-in-law joke that I’m very a bit anal when it comes to tidying up after cooking and eating. In fact, I generally rinse things and clear surfaces before I sit down with my meal. And… as soon as I’ve finished eating I rinse everything and get it in the dishwasher.

Part of that obsessiveness eccentricity is about the fact that I hate clutter. And, although I constantly talk about my #ToDoLists on Twitter, I actually get angsty (and antsy) about having things ‘to-do’. They play on my mind. I can’t relax. Until they’re done.

But… it’s also the cleanliness that gets to me. And… the bloody ants (or cockroaches) that will rain down upon me if there are crumbs about on which they’ll feast. Bloody things. (Oh, did I say that already?!)

Yesterday, after mammoth amounts of rain, a little trail of tiny ants appeared near the back door of my apartment. Not to be ambushed, I got my trusty insect spray out and asphyxiated the lot. (Am hoping the Buddhists aren’t right about that whole ‘coming back as something else’ thing!)

And then this morning, I was innocently scrambling an egg for breakfast when I looked up and…. there were thousands dozens of the bastards trekking across two walls of my apartment.

So… again I contributed to global warming (and I do apologise for being glib about my over-use of aerosol spray!) and sprayed half a can of stuff over my living space.

I’m now hiding out in my bedroom – where the air is breathable – but constantly feeling itchy, like I have ants crawling on my back, or arm or leg.

I know my pitiful little trail of ants is far from plague proportions as I’ve had far worse.

And I know it’s mostly about the rain, but my kitchen and living space are getting wiped from top to bottom once I can again breathe the air in there.

Bastards!

Can anyone else relate?