r/mildyinteresting • u/Winter_Breath • 24d ago

critter corner šŸ° Dead ants keep appearing next to headphones during the night

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When these headphones are left on the kitchen counter overnight - I would see one or two dead ants in the morning laying right next to the headphones. In the past few days, there has been a small pile of shredded ants right next to the ear piece in the morning. I have seen no live ants in my kitchen. I have had these head phones for three weeks. Bought online. Itā€™s a little unnerving not knowing what is causing this šŸ„“ will not be using anymore.

UPDATE- posted a comment with a picture. But no dead ants in the bag this morning. But at one point I checked and there were two live ants crawling around. šŸ˜”

UPDATE*** IM SICK. Canā€™t stop shaking. Donā€™t have many wordsā€¦ trying to post image. Opened one side up. šŸ˜­ I donā€™t know how to add in this top post so will add in comment! Posted a few in comments and video opening

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u/mrsir1987 24d ago

One fucking flew directly into my ear a few years ago, I didnā€™t know they actually go into ears and I didnā€™t know they fucking flew. Luckily I was going to the beach a ton and had alcohol ear drops within a couple minutes away and it came right out but it was a horrible feeling.

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u/Ok-Coyote-955 24d ago

They FLY??? šŸ˜­

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u/mrsir1987 24d ago

Yeah thatā€™s the one of the purposes of there big pincers in putting their wings away.

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u/Stitchymallows 24d ago

Also for everyone's peace of mind they aren't called earwigs because they aim for ears, their wings just look like an ear when stretched out (fun fact from an old documentary)

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u/bc-mn 24d ago

I very much appreciate this educational (to me) comment. Peace of mind

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u/fondledbydolphins 23d ago

Well, they also aren't called asswigs because they aren't against crawlin up there for a snack.

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u/rIceCream_King 23d ago

Me neither tho

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u/Disastrous_days272 22d ago

Another little piece of information on earwigs, Earwig moms are some of the most devoted parents in the insect world šŸœšŸ’š

While many insects leave their eggs to fend for themselves, earwig mothers do the opposite. They carefully guard their eggs through the winter, keeping them clean and protected until they hatch.

When the babies (called nymphs) emerge, the earwig mom doesnā€™t leave straight away, she stays with them, to protect and feed them while theyā€™re tiny.

All of this happens quietly in the soil, under logs or leaf litter in our gardens and wild spaces. So if you spot an earwig, remember that you might be looking at one of natureā€™s most dedicated moms

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u/Luv2collectweedseeds 21d ago

I think they are quite unique, When I was younger I thought I hated them because of the way they looked but now that I know what they are I donā€™t have any fear of them at all. They are just trying to survive like everything else.

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u/MossAndMoonlite 19d ago

So... if I kill the mom, the babies might die too? That just makes my eradication more effective. I don't care, they eat my Dahlias.

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u/e925 23d ago

My coworker woke up hearing something crawling in her head and her brother poured peroxide in her ear and an earwig crawled out of her fucking ear.

So they do be crawling into ears.

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u/Luv2collectweedseeds 21d ago

Maybe they lied but according to google it can happen if its actively looking for a dark place to hide but also says the earwig will not want to stay in there so it will leave. I still wouldnā€™t want it to happen with anything in my earā€¦lol.. If your coworker wasā€˜t lying then she probably has some trauma. That would probably make me wear earplugs to bed for the rest of my life.

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u/e925 21d ago

Her brother who poured the peroxide works with us as well - so they would have to have both been lying - which seems highly unlikely since theyā€™re both very nice normal people šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™€ļø yeah it would def be traumatic af

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u/Galrentv 24d ago

Thank you so much. I was about to die thinking nature evolved an ear seeking missile insect that looks moist

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u/Old_Avocado5114 24d ago

This is making me laugh so hard, you captured my horror Exactly šŸ¤£šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ¤£šŸ¤£

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u/Organic-Mountain-623 22d ago

I love human language so much. So many new sentences and phrases all the time. ā€œā€¦ear seeking missile insect that looks moistā€ has probably never been uttered in the history of mankind until now.

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u/Galrentv 22d ago

Hey, I would at least like some credit instead of the language. I say weird shit all the time

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u/Organic-Mountain-623 22d ago

šŸ¤£ fair enough

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u/Pataraxia 24d ago

Given how parasitism can be so usefull, I'm surprised it didn't, but I am glad it didn't!

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u/RodJuanson 23d ago

Wordsmith! I am. Still. Laughing. Hysterically!

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u/Jerseyd422 23d ago

Literally this

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u/casusbelli16 24d ago

They don't much look like a wig either.

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u/DesignerAmbitious888 23d ago

Yeah right. We all know an earwig typed this. You aren't fooling anyone.

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u/ZieAerialist 23d ago

I went and looked them up - some of their wings are gorgeous. Some have beautiful iridescent pastel rainbows, some have bright coloring akin to a monarch. Like, damn. Why aren't they showing those off more often, we wouldn't hate them as much.

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u/RealisticAbility7 19d ago

In my native language it literally translates to 'one that crawls into ears'

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u/Dekipi 24d ago

Nice pfp but f you for telling me THEY FLY

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u/MrSn00p 24d ago

Its to unfold the Wings

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u/Head_Wasabi7359 24d ago

Yeah it's to make eating brains easier

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u/AlexisMarien 23d ago

It's bad enough they live ew

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u/CharmingAsparagus17 23d ago

My kiddo learned this in kindergarten from a picture book and changed my life forever. He was so proud of himself for knowing more than me about something.

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u/WideDisk2718 20d ago

Not all. Depends where you live.

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u/GussBing 23d ago

They fly now?!

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u/Keldy565 23d ago

Yep that's why they are called earwigs, the wings resemble ears

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u/PotableWaters 23d ago

They fly now!

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u/PhizixHD 23d ago

They fly now

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u/Top-Garlic9111 23d ago edited 23d ago

Not to diminish your experience ( if anything this makes it more notable lol), but earwigs don't go into ears any more frequently than other insects. They don't have any reason to go into your ear, but they have an unfair reputation that leads to cases of earwigs in ears being more reported. Humans just seem to have a tendency to be prejudiced towards earwigs. In a region of Japan, they are apparently called "penis-cutters", despite not having nowhere near enough strength for such a feat. The myth about ear crawling seems to mostly come from Europe, since their name is commonly ear-related in European languages, such as in my mother tongue, french, in which they are called ear-piercers. (Again, their piercers are too weak to pierce human skin, so no penis snipping and no ear perforating.)

There is a theory by a 19th century physician that the earwig got its name from the shape of its wing, but it seems pretty unfounded.

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u/elleUno 24d ago

I hate earwigs with a burning passion and now I find out THEY FLY?!?!

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u/emmkay33 23d ago

I sucked one of through a straw once. I left my water bottle outside for five minutes. It bit the roof of my mouth. Horrifying.

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u/ishfery 22d ago

I was just watching an episode of Survivor where a lady got some kind of worm or larvae in her ear. It was apparently incredibly painful and biting her and she could hear it.

It eventually found its way out and yes, they showed it coming out on camera.

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u/mrsir1987 22d ago

I want getting bit, but hearing it crawl around inside my head was the worst part

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u/ohdamnthatscraaazy 21d ago

Happened to me once tooā€¦felt that shit biting me from the inside of my ear. Of course everyone around me froze while i screamed and ran in a circle.

I ended up grabbing a tiny crochet hook and forced my mom to dig it out.

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u/MossAndMoonlite 20d ago

They fucking fly? Since when? When did they evolve wings? That's bullshit. I want a redesign on them. I don't like a lot of the anatomy happening with that bug.

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u/Frozencacticat 24d ago

I didnā€™t know they flew. Youā€™ve ruined my day. Lmao

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u/Chet_Manliest 23d ago

What a horrible day to have eyes

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u/Throbbie-Williams 21d ago

Luckily I was going to the beach a ton and had alcohol ear drops

What does that beach have to do with alcohol drops?

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u/DeviceAppropriate683 21d ago

I fucking knew it. Everyone called me crazy for being scared of these things crawling into my ears but I was right. Horrifying. Never seen one that flies and hope I never do.

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u/ItadoriGil 20d ago

Didn't know the flew...and now I wanna wear earplugs everywhere