The First Warning Sign
Mark’s wife, Sarah, was the first to notice something odd about two weeks later. She was sweeping the kitchen when she saw what looked like a spec of pepper moving near the dog’s food bowl. She frowned, leaned in, and brushed it away. It scurried. It moved with a jerky, erratic motion that was unmistakably insect-like.
“Mark?” she called out later that evening. “I think we might have ants or something. I saw a little bug in the kitchen.” Mark shrugged, barely looking up from his phone. “Probably just a stray. I got a huge roach a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it’s just a straggler.” He dismissed it, assuming the problem was solved. That dismissal gave the colony the time they needed to establish a stronghold.