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jrc1963 posted 6/10/2013 19:23 PM

Why did God create these little monsters???

Ouch... all around my ankle.

No more yard work w/o my work boots on.

Sad in AZ posted 6/10/2013 19:52 PM

I live in fear of them here. I never realized all the weird dirt piles were fire ant mounds--I was expecting something that looked more like an ant mound Then I find out that there doesn't even need to be a mound...

I'm benign or at least ambivalent about most creatures, but ants seriously creep me out!

PS--Sorry about your bites!! Does anything soothe them? (The bites; not the ants )

[This message edited by Sad in AZ at 7:53 PM, June 10th (Monday)]

nowiknow23 posted 6/10/2013 20:00 PM

((((jrc)))) I got attacked by fire ants when I lived in Florida (on Christmas Day, even!), so I feel your pain.

Stupid ants.

nowiknow23 posted 6/10/2013 20:02 PM

ps: Apple cider vinegar. Repeat as needed.

jrc1963 posted 6/10/2013 20:20 PM

I usually just put rubbing alcohol on the bits and that dries them up pretty fast.

As for soothing the ants... Amdros works like a charm... a few sprinkles and the "mounds" disappear.

I stepped directly into a large mound when I first moved back to Florida in 1998 and had ant bites all the way up to my you know what on both legs...

I'm very very diligent about killing them now. Even when I lived in an apartment, I'd make sure to buy Amdros and kill those suckers myself.

FaithFool posted 6/10/2013 20:21 PM

Ugh, you guys are making me itch, and I'm in the Pacific NW. We don't have those little bastards up here...

Threnody posted 6/11/2013 11:13 AM

I carry Benedryl gel in the Jeep, in our minivan, and in my purse. We have two bottles of it in the house at all times as well. I stepped on a mound the other day while taking a photograph of a flower in the yard and I was covered up to the knee with ants before I'd even realized what I'd done (I was looking through the camera). Benedryl gel is the absolute best -- I had it on the bites within two minutes, and it immediately ceased the stinging and there was no swelling or visible bite marks.

There's a kid song called "Send Them Back Home to Brazil" that we sing around the house every summer. It's sung by Lucas Miller, who is from this area and is referred to as "the singing zoologist." He's a super-nice guy and OMG the song is funny:

http://www.reverbnation.com/lucasmiller

tushnurse posted 6/11/2013 12:38 PM

I freaking hate those things. When we lived in Dallas my son who was just a baby got bit by a bunch of them.

My H loved to torture them, he'd kick their mound get them all boiling out, and then drop something on fire on them, and laugh and say now they really are fire ants. (dork)

I'm fairly certain they don't really even serve a purpose. Glad they don't come this far north too.

purplejacket4 posted 6/11/2013 15:51 PM

Fire Ants, fleas and humidity is why I refuse to live anymore in the Deep South. This chased me to the Great Southwest!

lieshurt posted 6/11/2013 15:58 PM

I'm fairly certain they don't really even serve a purpose.

Actually, fire ants eat ticks and chiggers, so they've managed to greatly reduce them here.

Sad in AZ posted 6/11/2013 16:01 PM

Fire Ants, fleas and humidity

I thought it read 'humanity'

So, you traded them for killer bees? We had five infestations of them when I lived in Tucson...

tabitha95 posted 6/11/2013 16:07 PM

My sister still has the scar (emotionally and physically ) from the lone fire ant bite she received while visiting me.

I miss living in TX, but I don't miss the fire ants at all. Those ant hills would pop up overnight.

tushnurse posted 6/12/2013 09:04 AM

Wow Lies I had no idea. But I still can't stand those nasty buggers.

HereWeGo62 posted 6/13/2013 08:59 AM

I hate fireants! I ended up standing in a mound at one of my DD soccer games. Once I had a few hundred of the little bastards on my legs their leader gave the attack signal and they all bit at the same time. I felt like a flamethrower was melting my legs. Everybody at the game knew exactly what happend because I was doing the frantic "fire ant dance."

I have been merciless on fire ants since that incident. My favorite is a big stockpot of boiling salt water. I can't use any pesticides because I own Tortoises.

[This message edited by HereWeGo62 at 9:00 AM, June 13th (Thursday)]

Threnody posted 6/13/2013 09:07 AM

I want to start a tortoise ranch! OMG, where in Texas are you? I have absolutely no experience with them, but I adore them and always swore if I had the land I'd create a space for them designed by people who know them, and open that space up for a rescue organization to use. I'd just want a bench nearby so I could sit out there all day and watch the tortoises. My favorites are the Russian spurred, although of course I love Galapagos.

We have problems keeping the ants at bay because all the yards are close together here. As soon as we get a mound killed, another one pops up because the ants have tunneled over from someone else's yard. Poison is out, because of the pets and kids. We're having the same problem with fleas right now, too -- we can only treat our yard so much with certain kinds of chemicals, but sharing close space with neighbors who don't care makes it difficult.

HereWeGo62 posted 6/17/2013 13:55 PM

where in Texas are you

I am in Austin. They love the St. Augastine grass here!!