Tried to Kill Ants, but Nearly Killed Myself!!!

From October 11

I don’t know the exact definition of RESPIRATORY DISTRESS ~ but, I think I might have been in it????
I couldn’t breathe. My throat was burning. My nose was running. My eyes were watering, The roof of my mouth was swelling. And, I couldn't stop coughing!
IF you’ve read THIS POST about Visitors ~ you know all too well that my apartment has way more ants than I’m comfortable having!

I’ve done everything I could to get rid of them: I have scrubbed the counters with Clorox water. I have swept the floor. I have wiped down window sills. I have even kept certain windows closed. But, they still get in! So, since I’m tired of squashing them with my shoes & I’m tired of seeing them come IN windows that are closed, I decided it was time to spray them! I’d looked at cans of Raid in the store, but didn’t know which one to buy. (mostly because I didn’t know the Spanish word for ant.)


A couple days ago, my friend M.E. volunteered to pick up a couple things for me at the large grocery store on the other side of town. One thing I asked for was a can of spray to kill the never-ending parade of ants! When I went over to her house to pick it up, I asked her to read the directions to me (since the can was in Spanish). It didn't have any directions on it - only warnings about not spraying it in your eyes & other crazy stuff like that. It was all just common sense, so I figured I’d be fine.

Well, I opened every single window & began spraying the cement window sills & the metal window frames. A minute or 2 later, all those symptoms started.
I thought, “Well, when you’re painting, you ventilate the fumes by opening windows & turning on fans.” So, I turned on the fan, but then my eyes started stinging really badly!
So, I went outside, left the door open, & sat there on the steps, guzzling my water bottle. As the water was going down my throat, it felt like my throat was closing up & that the lining of my throat was burning.
I was gasping for breath & it hurt when I tried taking a deep breath.
It got to the point when I was literally scared & I started praying. I couldn’t think straight, so it came out mostly as, “JESUS!! JESUS!!!”

Here is a picture of the results:(Update: It was several days until I could take a deep breath again! But, I believe all is well now! I’ve used the spray since then to kill some roaches. I only had minor symptoms those times, because I didn’t spray as much & I held my breath while spraying, then I’d run into a different room…away from the dying roach!)

On a MUCH ligher note ~ When I was a kid, I'd watch bugs, pick them up, admire them...even gross other kids out with them.  But, the older I've gotten, the less I want bugs crawling on me, on my furniture, near my food, etc...  Here’s a funny video about ants in your pants & spraying ant spray!
CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO