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Fire ants invade North Texas with heavy rains
WFAA.com ^ | May 21, 2015 | Philip Townsend

Posted on 05/27/2015 1:58:36 PM PDT by Daffynition

The ants take turns walking on one another to stay out of the water and survive. They eventually build dense circles like the one Nathan captured on his phone.

"I was floored when I saw them," said Nathan's dad, Dwayne. "I had never seen anything like that."

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


TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: ants; fireants; insects; pests; texas; texasfloods; wildlife
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To: Texicanus

As a native Texan, I’ll LOL at that!


81 posted on 05/27/2015 5:05:45 PM PDT by Jane Long ("And when thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek")
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To: central_va
Shortest period of time ever recorded is the time between when a fireant gets on you and the time it starts biting/stinging.

That's no joke. A wasp might land on you, walk around a bit and fly away without ever stinging but fire ants start attacking as soon as they touch your skin.

Just this past Monday I wasn't watching where I was going and set some gear down by a fire ant fill. When I went to pick it up, ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! Like electric shocks, I started getting stung. Most of the bites went away fairly quickly but one on my finger has turned into a nasty, pus-leaking zit.

82 posted on 05/27/2015 5:06:30 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Texicanus

And a few months ago, I was complaining about the never ending winter here in the Northeast. One good thing about these winters up here is that they kill every bug so that in April, they have to start all over again and never really get a foothold. But there are a few weeks where the deer flies and mosquitoes make it tough to be outdoors.


83 posted on 05/27/2015 5:08:32 PM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: Joe 6-pack

would be to spade deeply around the exposed mound slightly raising it


:) excellent example of theory colliding with reality. You wouldn’t have the first spadeful up and the ants will have totally covered the spade and jumped onto you! Their rage upon attack is why lots of folks just ignite ‘em, then stand back and gloat.


84 posted on 05/27/2015 5:17:14 PM PDT by txhurl
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To: txhurl
"excellent example of theory colliding with reality. You wouldn’t have the first spadeful up and the ants will have totally covered the spade and jumped onto you!"

100% DEET on the spade and trouser legs. They hate the stuff.

85 posted on 05/27/2015 5:20:29 PM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: Daffynition

That is when you hit them with a blowtorch And gasoline.

Damn hard to get rid of.


86 posted on 05/27/2015 5:30:46 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: al_c

It’d be nice if the birds ate them, while they are in these groped patterns.


87 posted on 05/27/2015 5:34:21 PM PDT by Daffynition ("We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men")
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To: Jane Long

As a fellow native Texan and a conservative, I thank you.

I would like to discourage any out-of-state liberals from coming to Texas and planning to change our State into the liberal paradise they came from. Fire ants are the least of their problems. Conservative Texans have learned to live with fire ants but liberals are another issue.


88 posted on 05/27/2015 5:38:00 PM PDT by Texicanus (Texas, it's like a whole 'nother country.)
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To: Publius

Sure hate to hear that! I haven’t seen any here.....yet.....


89 posted on 05/27/2015 5:38:44 PM PDT by luvie (All my heroes wear camos! Thank you David, Michael, Chris, Txradioguy, JJ, CMS, & ALL Vets, too!)
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To: central_va; Duckdog

90 posted on 05/27/2015 5:48:12 PM PDT by Daffynition ("We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men")
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To: Texicanus

Heh. Great story. There’s not much that attracts me to Texas....has to do with its lack of trees and it’s so flat and hot....and now this!


91 posted on 05/27/2015 5:51:49 PM PDT by Daffynition ("We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men")
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To: jmacusa

92 posted on 05/27/2015 5:52:30 PM PDT by Daffynition ("We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men")
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To: Fungi
thanks..those d@mn @nts are in wKY now, we were Aggies then
and we hope they aren't following us. 😲

93 posted on 05/27/2015 5:52:43 PM PDT by skinkinthegrass ("Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid." Hedy Lamarr)
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To: Bubba_Leroy

Just 1/4 teaspoon of Amdro on the biggest mound wipes it out overnight. Might not even take that much.

I get huge mounds 4 feet around in the orange grove sometimes, if I haven’t walked the orchard in a while. Sometimes there will be a big one at the base of a palm, but no matter how big the mound a tiny bit of Amdro takes care of it. We usually have a couple small mounds to do every few weeks, but that’s all on several acres, and seldom any near the house because the chickens or ducks must eat them.

Squirting dawn dish soap into the main opening probably would work too,though mostly against the worker ants, not neccesarily the queen. It seems like the fire ants take the amdro as if it is a prized gourmet treat directly to the queen, so it is very efficient.


94 posted on 05/27/2015 5:54:20 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper
Import these....more useful than an armadillo.


95 posted on 05/27/2015 5:54:53 PM PDT by Daffynition ("We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men")
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To: SamAdams76

Like the never ending winter you were experiencing, the fire ants seen to go on forever in Texas. Just about the time we think we have them whipped, something like a flood comes along and they are more prevalent than ever once again. It’s a losing battle.

They will migrate off our property and wait patiently on our next door neighbor’s property, only to return with a vengeance when we think you have gotten rid of them for good. They eat the pesticides like candy and their population appears to dwindles yet they survive to pester us time and again. It is a cycle we have experienced for decades in Texas.


96 posted on 05/27/2015 5:57:05 PM PDT by Texicanus (Texas, it's like a whole 'nother country.)
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To: sockmonkey
Dreadful story. I was bitten in Florida.....sore and itchy for weeks.


97 posted on 05/27/2015 5:57:27 PM PDT by Daffynition ("We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men")
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To: Daffynition
Watch:
98 posted on 05/27/2015 5:57:28 PM PDT by Yosemitest (It's Simple ! Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: JoeProBono

Yikes! I’m getting too old for this!


99 posted on 05/27/2015 5:59:36 PM PDT by Daffynition ("We Are Not Descended From Fearful Men")
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To: Texicanus

Amen. Don’t come to Texas!


100 posted on 05/27/2015 6:03:10 PM PDT by Jane Long ("And when thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek")
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