Posted on 09/09/2009 8:51:04 AM PDT by Dysart
Popeye?
That’s a crazy Unt.
Crazy idea. Exterminate them where you find them.
For years we fought “red ants.” When the fire ant appeared, we began to leave the reds alone so they could compete with the fire ants for food/resources as a natural solution while we fought the fire ant.
I wonder if the crazy ant is a natural enemy to other ants as well since it appears to wipe out all other insects in it’s path.
I have my doubts that they are worse than fire ants.
I recall a couple of years ago, the University of Florida seemed to be on the verge of developing a system for destroying fire ants. Must not have worked.
They're tiny little critters. One bit me on the wrist about two weeks ago while I was out working on my lawn...I still have a tiny scab, but for a few days afterwards, I had a rash and swelling about half way up the bottom of my forearm, and up over the back of my thumb. Another one bit me on the ankle and left a similar welt. They don't seem to have been bothering my dog, a long, thick haired Tervuren, too much, but my girlfriend's dog, a short haired boxer has left my yard with some pretty nasty bites.
I notice them most around the front gate of my privacy fence but haven't quite pinpointed the nest yet. I think it's time for a curing fire.
Pour Crazy Glue on the nest.
I read that the crazy ants are natural predators of fire ants. Some sites say they bite and others say they don’t, but all say they attack beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and honeybees, as well as small animals by swarming them until they choke. However the biggest complaint is that they like electrical devices and will short them out.
Strangely, the fireants showed up here in North Mississippi the same time the armadillos did.
Also both my dogs have been bitten by something that they are very allergic to but Vet and I determined it's not fleas. This may be it. (Not this variety but fire ants.) They might have plopped down on a mound or something.
I kill colony after colony of fire ants but a new swarm of mounds crop up in their place in short order.
A result of global warming, no doubt. And since it started in Texas, it MUST be Dubya’s fault.
Wonderful. Another evil bug just waiting to bite me.
Whereabouts in TX are you? I’m in Lafayette, LA, which as I said, is about 3-4 hours east of Houston (my Rep., Charles Boustany, a retired heart surgeon, will be giving the rebuttal to Obama tonight). We certainly have fire ants in the area, and I know what they look like...these ain’t them! As to the question about whether or not they bite, they do. The first time I got bit, I was sitting on my sidewalk doing some edging and felt a pin prick on my wrist. I looked down and the little critter has his jaws locked in my skin and he was holding on like a monkey trying to ride a bronco. That was early evening after work, and by bed time, I had a rash spreading up and down my arm from the bite. The next morning, the whole area was slightly puffy and swollen and itched like poison ivy.
Old wives tale...
If you’re bitten by an insect, tape a copper penny over the bite to reduce itch and swelling. I don’t know if it works for everyone but it worked for me.
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