Ike Alert: Be wary of snakes, fireants
Chester Moore, Jr., The Orange Leader
Citizens remaining in Southeast Texas should be very cautious of snakes, fireants and other potentially dangerous wildlife in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
Cottonmouth water moccasins and copperheads are the two most prevalent poisonous snake species in the region and they along with numerous nonvenomous species are likely to enter homes and other dwellings in flood conditions.
Fireants are another problem and their presence around dwellings will be more pronounced than snakes in the region. Southeast Texas fire ant numbers have increased dramatically in recent years and many homes and properties are likely to have ant infestations now.
LSU AgCenter entomologist Dr. Dale Pollet said ants and their colonies can present a potentially serious medical threat to people and animals during and after times of flooding.
"Floodwaters will not drown fire ants. Instead, their colonies will actually emerge from the soil, form a loose ball, float and flow with the water until they reach a dry area or object that they can crawl up on," Pollet said.
Ants will often "raft", gathering in tight bunches and during these conditions they are under high stress can deliver bites with twice the poison as during normal conditions.
LSU officials said recommendations for treating for fire ants after a storm differ from the usual ones that call for the use of baits that are carried back to the colony and eventually kill it.
"At the time of flooding or right after flooding, general preventive treatments for controlling the fire ants are out of the question," Pollet wrote in a statement on dealing with fireants after Hurricane Rita.
"Ant colonies or ants encountered now need to be dealt with quickly."
Pollet noted the experts say aerosol spray products containing pyrethrins or pyrethrum derivatives (tetramethrin or allethrin) or Bengalʼs Deltramethrin dust labeled for use on "ants" or "crawling insects" can yield a quick knockdown of the insects and will break down quickly.
"Spray or dust as many of the ants as possible," Pollet advised.
"Just spray or dust surfaces, cracks of infested objects and debris. Then return after the treatment has had time to work."
Snakes will rest on door knobs too.
These are probably the fire ant colonies that were seen leaving New Orleans three years ago!