Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Travis County approves funding to control crazy ants population
kxan ^ | May 30, 2018 | Lauren Kravets

Posted on 05/30/2018 11:20:28 AM PDT by bgill

Travis County is partnering with the University of Texas at Austin to evaluate a pathogen as a biological control agent for tawny crazy ants. The invasive ants can threaten your yards and get into your home. They also threaten songbirds and some endangered species. Researchers at UT will introduce the microsporidian pathogen by inoculating tawny crazy ant colonies. In prior research, experts found the pathogen may significantly reduce TCA populations.

(Excerpt) Read more at kxan.com ...


TOPICS: Agriculture; Gardening; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: crazyants; nylanderiafulva; texas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041 next last
Crazy ants. Fire ants. Red ants. Carpenter ants. Cut ants. And their cousins, termites. I don't care for any of them.
1 posted on 05/30/2018 11:20:28 AM PDT by bgill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: bgill

They’re crazy in reaction to the name we gave them.


2 posted on 05/30/2018 11:22:53 AM PDT by fwdude (History has no 'sides;' you're thinking of geometry.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill

I had a crazy aunt. She was sooooo mean to us!


3 posted on 05/30/2018 11:23:27 AM PDT by NohSpinZone (First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NohSpinZone

I reads an ant book several years ago. Among useless facts were that the entire biomass of ants weighs 5 times that of humans. We are soooooo0 screwed.


4 posted on 05/30/2018 11:25:08 AM PDT by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: bgill

I once heard a joke. To get rid of em you need some black Krylon spray paint and a stick. Stir up the nest with the stick to bring them all up to the surface. Quickly spray them all with the paint.

When they go back inside, they’ll see each other and they’ll stop working and begin killing each other.

I thought that joke was very insensitive.


5 posted on 05/30/2018 11:26:56 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill

Wasn’t there some Irwin Allen flick made back in the 1970s about ants overrunning a town and it would have had the usual cast of familiar faces padding their bank accounts?


6 posted on 05/30/2018 11:29:32 AM PDT by OttawaFreeper ("The Gardens was founded by men-sportsmen-who fought for their country" Conn Smythe, 1966)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino

Your response to the joke is what made me lol. :)


7 posted on 05/30/2018 11:29:55 AM PDT by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: bgill

Fire ants? And I hear it’s like 100 degrees in the Ft. Worth area, with high humidity to boot going up to about 104 in a few days. Nasty.


8 posted on 05/30/2018 11:32:41 AM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill

What could go wrong?


9 posted on 05/30/2018 11:33:36 AM PDT by Tax-chick (I have the easiest life in the history of the world.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill

Traumatized uncles breath a collective sigh of relief. ;o)


10 posted on 05/30/2018 11:41:13 AM PDT by OHelix
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill
I was stationed in Panama in the army. When exploring the perimeter of the small Island I was stationed on, I came across a trail of leaf cutter ants that was about two to three feet wide...........That didn't help my fear and hatred of ants one bit.

Unfortunately the company I was assigned with wasn't issued flame throwers..........

11 posted on 05/30/2018 11:41:13 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco (Mother nature is a serial killer......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NohSpinZone

Did she have a mustache?


12 posted on 05/30/2018 11:47:44 AM PDT by fatez (Ya, well, you know, that's just your opinion man...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: bgill

We actually take care to avoid hurting the ant colonies around the house because ants are a great defense against termites...and when you live in a log house that’s important!


13 posted on 05/30/2018 11:49:45 AM PDT by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NohSpinZone
I had a crazy aunt. She was sooooo mean to us!

Me, too! She liked to grab the refrigerator door handle while turning on the water in the kitchen sink, whoop as she got shocked and tell us to never, ever do that.

14 posted on 05/30/2018 11:49:51 AM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (Capitalists sign their checks on the front. Socialists sign theirs on the back.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: bgill

I have a crazy aunt. Doesn’t everyone?


15 posted on 05/30/2018 12:02:53 PM PDT by Bullish (government=overfunded stupidity.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill

Travis County would love invasive ants if they voted for Democrats like invasive people do.


16 posted on 05/30/2018 12:04:58 PM PDT by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill

“Marabunta!”


17 posted on 05/30/2018 12:17:41 PM PDT by onedoug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bgill

Crazy ants also like to get into electrical equipment. Somehow the EM fields attract them. Then the ants like to munch on the insulation. And then amazing things happen, especially when there is 480 volt or higher, 3 phase.


18 posted on 05/30/2018 12:27:42 PM PDT by Fred Hayek (The Democratic Party is now the operational arm of the CPUSA)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fred Hayek

Fire ants used to constantly get into our outside A/C unit. We moved.


19 posted on 05/30/2018 12:39:48 PM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: hal ogen

There are a lot of humans trying to turn that around!


20 posted on 05/30/2018 12:42:44 PM PDT by US_MilitaryRules (I'm not tired of Winning yet! Please, continue on!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson