Posted on 07/25/2024 6:28:25 AM PDT by Red Badger
Agricultural officials in Southern California are battling an active infestation of red imported fire ants that are "highly aggressive in nature," and pose a risk to California's agricultural economy.
The infestation occurred at a private property in Montecito, in Santa Barbara County, according to a recent press release from the Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.
Located over 90 miles north of Los Angeles, Montecito is best known as a celebrity enclave with Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle among the town's residents.
Officials did not name the owners of the private property.
Venom released from the ants' stings can cause "painful pustules on the skin, and can be particularly dangerous, even fatal, to sensitive groups or those with an allergy to the venom," officials said in the July 18 release.
Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, pose "an immediate threat" to California's agricultural economy because they require a quarantine of nursery products, officials said.
The ant species is native to South America but has established populations in parts of Southern California, particularly in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties. The first recorded presence of the species in California was in 1984.
Siavash Taravati, an entomologist and integrated pest management advisor with the University of California's Cooperative Extension offices, noted the distinction between this species of ants and ants native to California.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Dang! Hate to hear things like that- Kids are most vulnerable beczuse of size, and not knowing really about the dangers unless well taught by parents unfortunately.
As they say.. "Welcome My Friends to the Show that NEVER ENDS" - Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
Shirley you must be kidding. Each of those imported ants will get a ballot prefilled for the democrats.
“””””These ants apparently will attack even if you just come near the nests.”””””
Fire ants do that and they raise little pus pockets at the bite.
Doing property surveying in Harris County (Houston) my frequent exposure to them came from having to find the property rods at the long neglected corners of properties, which frequently meant a lot of machete work, searching with a metal detector and a lot of digging and searching for the rod with a shovel, which could be anywhere, including many feet down.
Rattlesnakes will move but the fire ants come after you and if their mound happens to be where you have to dig or probe, or close to where you are hitting the ground with a pick and shovel, then it becomes a real mess.
We loved running and biking inside those smoke screens.
shirley was my name before the accident-
Carry a gallon jug of bleach in your truck.............
A spray bottle with a watered down solution of bleach and water, one part bleach to three parts water, can be used to neutralize the chemical left behind by fire ant bites, providing relief from itching............
Lovely, but two days later there will be another one six feet away, same size. I have killed plenty. They are resourceful.
That was decades ago, my period of surveying passed, I do miss playing with that metal detector though, it could really penetrate the ground.
I have an El Cheapo detector that penetrates maybe 6-12 inches at best..............
And we lived to tell about it!
$1200!
I think I paid $59.95...at WalMart!.........
JAMBOG!
Officials battle ‘highly aggressive’ red imported fire ant infestation in Southern California
07/24/2024 7:50:16 PM PDT · by crusty old prospector · 72 replies
ABC ^ | July 24, 2024 | Leah Sarnof
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