Monday, August 08, 2005
White Ants 白 蟻
On Saturday, I spent several hours crawling under my house dressed in a funny-looking suit that looked and felt like a space suit. My suit consisted of heavy blue coveralls, a respirator with filters on both sides, and a baseball hat turned backwards. Whenever I talked or breathed with the respirator on, I sounded like Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.
What was I doing in such a goofy-looking suit on a beautiful Saturday morning? Would you believe that I was after white ants 白 蟻 (baak6 ngai2)? That’s what they call termites in Cantonese, and that’s what I was doing–-spraying under my house to protect it against termites and to kill the ants that have invaded my kitchen this summer.
With help from my nextdoor neighbor G, the job took 2 to 3 hours. G brought over his airless sprayer, which is the kind that professional painters use to paint large houses and buildings. As I crawled around on the ground under the floor, shooting the spray everywhere, misty clouds swirled around. It’s a good thing that I had the respirator on, but even so, I still could smell the powerful chemicals from time to time.
With so many steel and concrete buildings, HK probably does not have much to attract termites. On the other hand, there must be at least some wooden buildings in HK. Also, I have heard that termites are so aggressive that they even will go after buildings that do not have wood in them. Somehow, I would be surprised if termites are not a problem in HK, too. ¶ 6:27 PM
What was I doing in such a goofy-looking suit on a beautiful Saturday morning? Would you believe that I was after white ants 白 蟻 (baak6 ngai2)? That’s what they call termites in Cantonese, and that’s what I was doing–-spraying under my house to protect it against termites and to kill the ants that have invaded my kitchen this summer.
With help from my nextdoor neighbor G, the job took 2 to 3 hours. G brought over his airless sprayer, which is the kind that professional painters use to paint large houses and buildings. As I crawled around on the ground under the floor, shooting the spray everywhere, misty clouds swirled around. It’s a good thing that I had the respirator on, but even so, I still could smell the powerful chemicals from time to time.
With so many steel and concrete buildings, HK probably does not have much to attract termites. On the other hand, there must be at least some wooden buildings in HK. Also, I have heard that termites are so aggressive that they even will go after buildings that do not have wood in them. Somehow, I would be surprised if termites are not a problem in HK, too. ¶ 6:27 PM
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I had a similar experience this summer, not white ants but bookworms! Bookworms invaded all the walls in my flat! They're really hard to see, I didn't notice until they started building nests by my bed (like little cotton balls).
What I did was putting on my mask (leftover from SARS) and rubber gloves (kitchen), and sprayed all surface with "bio-kill" for three days. It did the trick.
The cleaning helper said it's normal to have bookworms for the high humidity.
What I did was putting on my mask (leftover from SARS) and rubber gloves (kitchen), and sprayed all surface with "bio-kill" for three days. It did the trick.
The cleaning helper said it's normal to have bookworms for the high humidity.
Lilya,
I have never heard of bugs called bookworms. What do you call them in Cantonese? 書 虫? When someone uses "bookworm" in English, it usually refers to a person who reads or studies constantly.
I have never heard of bugs called bookworms. What do you call them in Cantonese? 書 虫? When someone uses "bookworm" in English, it usually refers to a person who reads or studies constantly.
You've never seen a bookworm? you know the little ones in old moldy books that surprise you when you turn pages. Brown, tiny. I have an exaggerated fear of insects in general but I have a soft spot for bookworms. I still kill them though.
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