Advertisement
Memes

How to use the ‘sad ant with bindle’ meme

“how it feels walking to the car when you’re getting picked up”

Photo of Lindsey Weedston

Lindsey Weedston

sad ant with bindle

The sad ant with bindle meme is a popular reaction image featuring an anthropomorphized ant with a blue bag on a stick looking defeated. The sad depiction is often used as a “how it feels” joke or to convey the idea that someone has been ousted from a home or community for unjust reasons, such as because they are “weird” or don’t fit in.

Featured Video
Sad ant with bindle meme reading 'How it feels asking the NPC to repeat the mission plan to you because you spaced out'
japengski/Reddit

Internet users also frequently ironically deploy this meme, mocking those who set boundaries or try to gatekeep.

What is the sad ant with bindle meme?

The sad ant meme takes artwork from a pest control company that shows an ant on its hind legs (with no middle legs) holding a long, ragged stick with a blue bindle or knapsack on the end with his eyes drooping half-closed and a frown. He’s meant to look depressed, dejected, and despairing as he walks, and is also known as the homeless ant.

Advertisement

Likely the most common use of the meme is as a reaction or to mock someone who is trying to keep certain types of people out of their space, whether online or in real life, but mostly online. Some of the first uses of the meme was in response to Tumblr users who put “DNI” disclaimers in their bio, which is short for “do not interact” and directs certain populations to avoid their posts.

https://beachnet.tumblr.com/post/648233972564983808

The disclaimer, of course, doesn’t do anything to stop bad actors from interacting with their content anyway. In general, this meme is used to make fun of any effort that seems futile. Others have used it as part of the “how it feels” meme genre to convey any action that feels shameful or degrading.

Advertisement

Sad ant with bindle origins

The artwork with the rejected ant originated from a Virginia-based company called Zap Flea Pest Control or Zap Pest Control. The company appears to no longer be in business, as their website is just an error page and their Facebook page hasn’t seen an update since 2014. The social media account is still up, however, and its profile image features the ant next to a sketch of a house in the distance.

Original sad ant with bindle artwork.
Zap Flea Pest Control/Facebook

The first known use of the ant as a meme came from a deleted tweet by user @roxylalondeswag, now @roxybnnuy, who posted the little guy with the house cropped out and said: “Homophobes reading ‘homophobes dni’ at the end of your seizure inducing danganropa filled carrd.”

Advertisement

Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise in which high school students murder each other after coming under the control of a robotic teddy bear.

Happy ant without bindle meme

As the meme spread, someone eventually Photoshopped the sad ant with bindle guy to make him look happy and hopeful instead, removing the bindle and smiling at him while tilting his body so that he’s standing upright. Without his stick and bindle, he looks like he’s holding his hands up in little fists as though he might thrust them into the air in joy and/or triumph.

Sad ant with bindle meme photoshopped to be happy ant without bindle
@ooeygooeychewy/X
Advertisement

This is a common trend with popular memes, especially those meant to portray something sad or negative, as part of a rejection of the idea that only grim or mean-spirited jokes are funny.

Meme examples

Advertisement
Sad ant with bindle meme about being a 'monster girl enjoyer.'
FishAndMenFearMe/Reddit
Sad ant with bindle meme about Deep Rock Galactic.
FishAndMenFearMe/Reddit
Sad ant with bindle meme about Flight Simulator.
FishAndMenFearMe/Reddit
Sad ant with bindle meme about World of Tanks.
FishAndMenFearMe/Reddit
Advertisement
Happy sad ant with bindle meme reading 'me when i choose myself.'
@northstardoll/X

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

Advertisement
 
The Daily Dot