Whether you live in a house or a flat, nightmare neighbors are a real problem that happens far more often than should be legally allowed. But the problem with needlessly complex and overtly confusing neighbor quarrels is that, for an outsider, it's often impossible to take sides.
Let’s see how it goes this time. The Redditor u/KatiaV has recently shared an incident that her family had with the neighbors in what seems to be an epic neighbor saga titled “Do Not Hurt The Tomatoes.”
To put it shortly, a retired marine couple that lived next to the author has “decided to mount a campaign of general obnoxiousness against us” for an unknown reason.
It all escalated rapidly, and hit the boiling point when “then, they committed the ultimate crime.” Turns out, the marines dared to spray poison on KatiaV’s tomatoes and jalapenos. At this point, revenge was inevitable.
Read about the full incident right below, that (spoilers!) includes ants, thousands of ants.
Image credits: Dan Gold
Whether you’re a good neighbor, or the neighbor from hell, nobody likes ant infestation. (The question of whether some deserve it more than others is a different thing.) But ant infestations do happen, whether we like it or not.
Remember the last time you saw a handful of them dancing around the cereal box? The chances are they were not the only ones. One of the signs that shows you have an ant infestation is spotting a trail of ants inside your home. Ants will march one behind the other as a result of the pheromone trails they lay down once they have found a reliable food source.
Another sign is spotting piles of ants around your house. You may wonder how it happened that ants found their way into your precious home. Well, if it’s not revenge from the neighbor, which it may well be, the reasons can vary.
It quickly escalated into a full-blown neighbor war where revenge was inevitable
First, it may be food as ants are hungry, tiny creatures, scavenging for food like there’s no tomorrow. As soon as they find a source of nutrition, like countertops and pantries, they are likely to stay there. For a while.
Another reason may be moisture, as some species of ants thrive in damp wood, near cabinets, leaky pipes, and sinks.
Yet another thing you should consider is whether there are any cracks and crevices in your windows and doors. These tiny cracks can look like no big deal to you, but for ants, it’s basically a “Please, make yourselves at home” kind of invitation.
And this is what people had to comment on it
Incredibly, the researchers at Stanford found that keeping ants away may have little to do with costly pesticides. "People spend a lot of money on year-round pesticides," says Deborah M. Gordon, associate professor of biological sciences and lead author of the study, "but it's not the pesticide that keeps ants out of your home, it's the weather."
In fact, the research suggests that the majority of Argentine ant invasions occur during winter rainstorms and summer droughts. The results show a close link between weather and ant infestation."
Ants are most likely to enter homes in cold, wet conditions, typically in the winter in Northern California," the study authors concluded, noting that a smaller peak in the level of infestation occurs during hot, dry conditions—typically in August and September.