Remember Gulliver’s Travel
Do you know the popular story of “Gulliver’s Travels”? As the story goes, Lemuel Gulliver, a sea captain and surgeon who explores remote regions of the world, falls asleep after a shipwreck only to be awakened to realize he had been captured and tied up by the “little people,” or the Lilliputians, who are shorter than 6 inches tall. My story here is much the same.
Much like Gulliver, the legendary traveler, we full-timers travel to see America, especially the west. Even though we’re retired, it now appears inflation may be the impetus to bring us out of retirement. Thank goodness we no longer desire to be a homeowner.
Trekking through sweltering desert
On this sojourn, we departed St. George, Utah where we topped off our diesel pusher with 60 gallons of outrageously priced fuel, a mere $3.55 per gallon or $213.00 greenbacks. Just think, only a couple of months ago, we filled up at a previous Costco with 60 gallons for only $2.15 per gallon or $129.00 bucks. If this isn’t inflation, could it be a wanton tariff? Nevertheless, I booked us a pull-through, full hook-up site in Orange County, California. A beautiful setting nestled among trees, squirrels and thousands of noisy cars and long-haulers, adjacent to a multi-lane freeway. Gee, I almost forgot, and soon to be acquainted to millions of ants!
Settling in to being unsettled
We parked and settled in after a day-long trek across the south California desert. The next morning, I awoke to my cat staring at hundreds of puny ghost, thief or sugar ants crawling all over our bed and both of us. That startling feeling shakes you from deep slumber when you feel something crawling across your face and neck. They came in on my spouse’s side, so he had them all over his head and awoke to sneezing, as some had gotten near his nose. I can only imagine how Gulliver felt when he awakened to being carried by the little people! We both quickly showered to rid ourselves of any leftover critters and I proceeded to the front office.
Dismissing an ongoing problem
I mentioned the problem we were having with ants and asked if others had the same problem. I was apprised that this was not a new problem as ours was not a sole complaint. I asked if we weren’t advised in advance, would they now please spray to eliminate the problem. The worker responded with, “This is a wilderness park, and we sell ant spray.” I’m thinking wilderness you say, next to 16 lanes of freeway that one could throw a rock and hit a car from the park? Puzzling. Well, if some call Los Angeles a jungle, then I guess this park could be a wilderness. And to top it off, we can fall asleep to the purring of Cat’s, Detroit’s and Cummins’s nearby. All this with ants as a bonus.
Self-fulfilling problem solver
After the dismissal, we located and drove to Ace Hardware for advice and ant termination outcome. Ace’s personnel recommended two products we purchased for $34.00. We left feeling confident that we made the right decision to take the invasion head on. My spouse was fastidious in applying the powder around the perimeter and spraying the areas that had ground contact, openings in the wet bay, hoses and wires etc. Anything those critters could reach. My task was to kill and clean inside. Surprisingly, Sprayway window cleaner does both. At the onset of evening, we inspected the possible breached areas and called it a night thinking we just may wake up without the ants. No such luck!
Ground Hog Day revisited.
Déjà vu all over again! After washing the bedding and ridding the critters once again, we headed out to Lowe’s. Why Lowe’s? Because Lowe’s offers a 10% discount on everything they sell to veterans, a discount we graciously accept. Now on to Homeless Depot to purchase Zevo for inside, which is advertised as safe for pets. Now my cat can truly see in dark. Between the box stores, we spent an additional $42.00. We finally deduced that the nightly sprinklers would wash much of the spray off the utilities side of our coach, requiring spraying at least twice daily. And the ant traps. Nada! They didn’t visit those tasty desserts. After all our efforts, the ants still win.
Departure ensued
To add insult to injury, we needed to purchase diesel fuel. Because fuel in California is so highly taxed, we purchased 20 gallons for the low price of $4.95 per gallon or $99.00. Just enough to get us to Arizona and significantly lower fuel prices. As they say in New York and south Florida, “Such A Deal!” We will always be wary of those little critters in every park that isn’t all concrete and blacktop. At least they weren’t fire ants!
Read the edited article published September 3, 2021 here: Our RV got infested with thousands of ants – a Gulliver’s Travels nightmare! – RV Travel
Kate Doherty has been writing for more than 30 years in technical and general media. In her previous business, she and her spouse dealt with special projects within the military/government sector. Recently she published “Masquerade: A Logan Scott Novel” under the pen name Bryan Alexander, a thriller now available in eBook and paperback on Amazon. It’s a page-turner!