'[I] covered my father's whole house in ants': Guy's plan to get back at Dad for being too controlling backfires, attracting colonies of ants

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 6, 2023 4:00 PM EDT

Sometimes, revenge plans can have unexpected consequences that make the whole story significantly more entertaining. We know that in a perfect world, our plotting and scheming will go according to plan. But as we know all too well on this site, this is by no means a perfect world. Plans can backfire, and in this case, they backfired gloriously. 

 

This dude shared his story via this thread on Reddit's r/pettyrevenge subreddit. He prefaced his tale of vengeance with some background about his recent job, which requires him to travel the world and thankfully paid enough for him to finally move out from under his controlling, overprotective father's nose. The only caveat to this job is that while the position is totally legal, the Redditor cannot reveal the name of his company to anyone, especially nosy family members like his Dad. 

 

After repeatedly trying to explain his situation to his father to no avail, his Dad decided to snoop around and essentially stalk his son's every move. This meant that even though the Redditor finally moved into his own place, it still felt like his father was breathing down his neck. On top of that, his father still believed that what his son was doing for a living must have been shady. So, the son decided to play a little trick on him by planting packets of sugar all over his father's house, hoping to freak out his Dad when he discovered them. However, that isn't exactly what went down. That's because a giant colony of ants came across the packets of sugar first and the Redditor's Dad had to get an exterminator involved. Oh well! That's what you get for snooping, I guess.

 

Keep scrolling below for the full story. When you're finished, check out these top choosing beggars of the week!

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  • 01
    Plant - "Several colonies of ants swarmed his house"
    via Todd Kent
  • 02
    Font - I accidentally on purpose covered my father's whole house in ants. So, I posted the precursor to this story on AITB, but I'll give you a rundown. A few years ago I got an awesome new job. I love it so much, and I get to travel the country. Only thing is, I have some sort of agreement where I can't tell anyone the name of the company or specifics of what I do; I can only give a general title and say it's a private company. That is as much as I've told my father, and told him I'm not doing
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 03
    Font - He has tried to keep tabs on what I'm doing; monitors every post I make on Facebook (to the point I'll post some random comment on a page that has absolutely nothing to do with him, and he'll say something to me about it that same day). He has looked up where I was going when I told him I was staying at a hotel where a board game convention was being held (which was the truth). I didn't tell him the hotel, but he figured it out. He has opened my mail, which, has allowed him to discover th
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 04
    Font - I explained to him that my first year at the company was part time, and I still manage to pay off my remaining 10k student loan debt, and would be full time going into my 2nd year, there was no reason to worry about finances. He threw another tantrum and began screaming. I even told him I could probably rent out my place as an AirBNB if finances did become an issue. He responded with "Nobody would ever want what you have!" Well, that comment set me off. I've kept contact with him minimum
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 05
    Font - So, I was a bit upset. I began taking ziploc bags and filling them with oregano, or flour, or a flour and sugar mix, or brown sugar. I would place them in places where I know he would be, such as his favorite recliner's cupholder, the nightstand beside it, his pillow, the toilet in his preferred bathroom. I figured he would find them. The problem is... he didn't find them. Until several colonies of ants swarmed his house and he had to call an exterminator.
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 06
    Font - He yelled at me asking what all this stuff was, and I told him I had no idea, I've been in my apartment. I later learned the exterminator had told him what the contents of said packages actually were, and my dad has been leaving angry voicemails ever since lol. I could also hear the exterminator laughing in the background hysterically, which was a nice cherry on top.
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 07
    Font - Update: As many have suggested, some nicely and some not so nicely, I decided to go no contact, and have not been answering any of his calls (he's trying to do a 4th of July thing). He began calling my siblings to tell them how ungrateful and hurtful I was being to him (not because of the prank, but because of not answering his calls. I explained the story, and while my siblings mostly agree with me, still think NC is too far as they think it puts too much strain on the family as a whole.
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 08
    Font - CoderJoe1 3 days ago +4. Awesome. I also worked one of those jobs where I travelled all over the world, but mostly in the US. One of my coworkers moved to a new subdivision and one of his new neighbors got nosy because he would leave with his suitcase some weeks, but others he would work from home. On my suggestion, he started letting little statements slip around the nosy guy until he was convinced my coworker actually worked for the CIA. 1.1k Reply Share
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 09
    Font - Wooden-Quit1870 3 days ago When I worked as a Yacht Captain, it was SOP to not reveal the name of the owner under most circumstances. This often lead to wild guesses as to who's Yacht it was by acquaintances and the like. One woman I went on a few dates with deduced that I was the owner, playing at being the captain so I wouldn't be pursued for my wealth. 272 Reply Share
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 10
    Font - on beingahoneybadger 3 days ago If this is the US, opening your mail is illegal and he can be prosecuted by the feds. I know this because my grandma used to open my mail (I was 21, working full time and paying my bills and rent. (moved out a couple months later) and play 20 nosy questions. I called the post office and a guy called her (post master?) and threatened her with prosecution unless she stopped. It's called "Obstruction of Correspondence" and is a felony. One of the many, many re
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 11
    Font - 91 Rememberthepogs OP 3 days ago Yes but a few factors here; I was living with him at the beginning of this job, so if I were to prosecute, I would have to have waited until I moved out, so I suppose I could now. But also, for all the issues I've mentioned, he also has shown a compassionate side, in particular helping financially when i didn't have this job or when pandemic hit. But really just that one comment set me off, but trust me, I've heard much much worse from him. 53 ↓ Reply Shar
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 12
    Rectangle - HarvardCistern208 3 days ago I don't get why your dad was so upset that you had a job. What's the deal with that?
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 13
    Font - o Rememberthepogs OP 3 days ago Well, beyond the deeper psychology that is my dad's personality, the simpler answer is he wanted to know specifically what I do at my job, and was not okay with not knowing. This might help: His job title before he retired was "Controller," and while an accounting term, it's also a very accurate description of his personality as well. He believes, as my father, he has a right to know; however, I am legally bound not to tell him, and him not being able to kn
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 14
    Font - peppermintvalet. 3 days ago OK but the W2 line is just fantastic
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 15
    Font - SadLaw6 3 days ago Great revenge but now all I wanna know is who you work for
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 16
    Font - Rememberthepogs OP . 3 days ago. edited 3 days ago McDonald's is really upping the ante with their NDA's now..... (kidding kidding).
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 17
    Font - maroongrad 3 days ago +3. You are amazing :D If you want to attract sugar ants, you could try dissolving a lot of sugar into water and then spraying surfaces all over the house. The scent should pull them in, and sprinkle some grains in cracks and crevices to keep them there and happy ;)
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 18
    Font - Rememberthepogs OP . 3 days ago lol i wasn't trying to attract ants; that was merely a byproduct of my other efforts.
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 19
    Font - A PuzzleheadedBet8041 3 days ago Imao, well done. +2 my dad is similarly anxious about my safety and well-being and that manifests in control issues and mean angry outbursts. wish there was a way we could force these f therapy! into
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 20
    Font - Large-Calligrapher98. 3 days ago Move and cut him off. He sounds psychotic! What are you, a precocious 12 year old? Sorry but he sounds dangerously close to the edge. Please be careful!!
    via u/Rememberthepogs
  • 21
    Font - Rememberthepogs OP 3 days ago already moved out. As mentioned, financial strain during pandemic was the only reason I had been living with him at all.
    via u/Rememberthepogs

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family drama house revenge petty revenge ants dad family reddit thread Reddit sabotage Father
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