Fire Ants
 

seem to be very active right now. I just saw this amazing video of some crossing water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A042J0IDQK4

Well, thanks for that Sam! Now I have something to dream about tonight, right after my favorite, "the roof is falling in on us". :1rotfl: On the serious side, our friend was attacked my fireants after accidently stepping on the side of the their nest. He ended up in the emergency room due to all the bites.

Nice going sam !!!
 

Now everyone will want to drain the ponds to escape " a-day"

Besides they're easy to get rid of .........I just sprinkle some of my wifes FAMOUS STEW on the lawn and I haven't seen an ant in two years........Come to think of it I haven't had any company either..............


lonesone fumar

I have had Once a Year over here on a regular basis for the past few weeks. I have also purchased and applied several bags of fire ant killer and tried putting cornmeal on the hills. That cornmeal trick does not work for me. They are thriving. When I think of how much poison we put into the ground around here, it frightens me.
I have had half a dozen fire ant bites over the last couple of weeks and they hurt like the dickens. You can be bitten many times and suddenly become very allergic to their venom. A neighbor came close to death after being stung. They are nasty.

Yeah, Sam, that is what happened to the friend I mentioned. He had difficulty breathing by the time they began treating him at the hospital. I don't like those little beasts at all....

Bleach will neutrilize some stings
 

If you don't wait a long time after a bite, wipe bleach on those bites or better yet spritz some bleach on those hands and lower legs PRIOR to going out to do yard work , it will work most of the time. Like skin so soft for black flies and mosqitoes. Been doing this for years.
The smell is not the best but your going to shower after yard work anyway, so ..............

I was using the bleach. It seems to be working less than it did originally. The last bites required two benadryl every few hours. It was a sleepy day.

They can be deadly...My sister-in-law was gardening and got bit by them (Not too many)...She died the next day from anaphylactic shock...She and I used to get bit by them once in a while and we both would have the same reaction...Itching and swelling.... so trust me when I say I am VERY careful when I'm outside. The doctors say that if you start itching and swelling on other parts of your body where you weren't bit, you should go to the ER immediately. Now I take two Benydryl immediately and also have an Epi-pen in case I start having trouble breathing..
I'm not trying to scare people and I know many who have hardly any reaction to the bite of a fire ant...I'm just saying to be careful around these darn ants...

Imagine being the person the Indians in the old West would stake to the ground on an ant hill.

That is horrible!! I was told that intense itching under the arms and in the groin area was one of the earliest symptoms this person suffered before going into shock.

OK GUYS LISTEN UP ......

NEXT TIME YOU GO TO THE SUPER MARKET .....BUY A BAR OF FELS NAPTHA SOAP..............WHEN YOU GET A BITE , DIP THE BAR IN WATER AND RUB ON THE BITE UNTIL IT MAKES A PASTE , LET IT DRY AND LEAVE IT ON FOR A HALF HOUR OR SO .................THIS WORKS ON EVERYTHING FROM STINGS TO DOG BITES .......DON'T GO TO THE DOGGIE RUN WITHOUT IT ....I MUST ADMIT I HAVEN'T TRIED ON SHARK BITES YET BUT AM TOLD IT WORKS VERY WELL...I THINK BOBBY DARREN TOLD ME THAT......
AS FOR THE COUPLE OF PEOPLE FROM THE POLITICAL FORUM ( you know who you are) I'M TOLD IT WORKS WELL ON JOCK ITCH..........

THE ADVICE ON THE PREVIOUS POST IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, IF YOU START ITCHING OR SWELLING IN AREAS OTHER THAN THE BITE ,,,,THEN HEAD FOR THE EMERGENCY ROOM OF YOUR LOCAL HOSPITAL......

always glad to be of service FUMAR

OK.

I will go buy a bar of Fels Naptha. Good to know. I once got chiggers. Jiggers. Whatever it is you call the little, and I do mean little, :cus:

But now I have to tell you something else. It is the truth.

I have been in and out of here tonight, pointing and clicking around, and doing a few other things in between. All in a hurry.

I just now glanced at the list of topics. I thought this one said, "Fine Arts."

Imagine my discombobulation when I read the post I just read.

Oh well. Good to know, anyway.

Boomer

Boomer, you crack me up.
Fumar, Thanks for the Naptha tip. One thing though..your comment "AS FOR THE COUPLE OF PEOPLE FROM THE POLITICAL FORUM ( you know who you are) I'M TOLD IT WORKS WELL ON JOCK ITCH..........", well, isn't that a male only thing???

Definitely off topic, but just wanted us to remind ourselves that those Indians could well have been those whose people were LITERALLY used for target practice by the settlers and/or the cavalry. Check your history; I'm not making this up....

The mind playing tricks
 

Funny, Boomer and Samhass: I also read the thread as FINE ARTS. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was THE FINE ART OF MAKING ANT HILLS. lol
Good information to put in my TV Notebook of Important Things to Know. Thanks for the homeopathic treatment Fumar.

Eeeek! I have fire ants!!! :eek:
It was wonderful to be greeted by such nice and helpful TV friends, but I could have lived without being greeted by fire ants in the yard! :22yikes:.
My biggest concern is they will bite my babies, and they love to go out and play.
Bernie suggested a powder and Nonie is taking me today to get it. Is there anything else I need to know or do so they will go away pronto? How long do these nasty things visit us? Do I do the whole lawn and trees etc.?
Last question hehe....do I just hire someone or is it very costly? I dont mind doing it at all but was wondering how it is on the lungs? :shrug:
Appreciate any advice...thanks! :bowdown:

JeanneBeannie :)

Lowes and Home Depot both have fire ant control. Spread it on the mound, activate it with water and it is suppose to kill them. Look around the yard for more.

Are you sure they are fire ants?

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/fireants.jpg

Thank you very much, it sure would be wonderful if they werent fire ants, but I do have three mounds like the picture and they are tiny little red ants. I looked it up online yesterday and the pictures they described look like the little rascals. Are fire ants teenie tiny? And there are also loads of them...yuk! :faint:
Thanks Host!
Jeanne :)

We returned Friday night and had about seven mounds. Sweetie "salted" them with the fire ant dust. He was told to go around the hill, thus when they try to leave they get covered. If you dust just on the hole on top of the mound, they supposedly run out from the sides and make another hill.

Now I am not sure of this. And this is how tall tales begin.

Jeanne? I need to meet YOU.

Bengal fire ant killer
 

Bengal is the best fire ant killer I've found. bengal.com

Thank you everyone for your ideas and advice. Kathie went to Home Depot for me and bought me the stuff to get rid of these horrible things yuk, just looking at them makes me itchy. I didnt spread it yet since my sprinklers were set to go on, but I will do it today and hopefully say good riddens to fire ants. :boxing2:

P.S. I want to meet you too Gracie, I didnt realize you were here, I will PM you. :coolsmiley:

Does adding a little Dewars make this procedure more humane?

Maybe for the one doing the applying...

I read the thread title out loud in an Alabama accent and thought it was about places 'fer rent.
:popcorn:

Nope, Alabama accent would be far aints

Well then, bluedog, I read aloud in a "state" of confusion, as well you might have guessed. :shrug:

Fire Ants
 

It looks like my info on getting rid of fire ants was deleted for some reason. ????

It certainly seems to have gone. This was very good advice and I was joking about it. Tell us again Islandgal. It was from an excellent source too. The county agricultural agent(??)

I remember this much. Empty club soda into the center and the carbon dioxide released will replace the oxygen and will suffocate them and will destroy the whole colony including the queen who may be far beneath the surface.

Please tell us again.

I think Tony was cleaning out the silliness in threads and missed mine and got your very valid post instead. He shouldn't delete when he is sleepy.

islandgal's information was deleted because it was incorrect, and it was directly lifted from some other site.

In addition to being a copyright infringement, a quick web search showed that it was also false, therefore I chose to remove it.

And now gracie has posted about getting rid of fire ants that also is wrong. See how it spreads? A quick check by the original poster could have stopped that.

I thought I had checked it by seeing it was from a reliable source. Copyright?

"This is a new twist to killing fire ant colonies.
For those not familiar with Walter Reeves, he is from the University of Georgia Agriculture Department, specializing in home gardening. His television show, 'Gardening in Georgia', is on each Saturday. "

It would have been nice if I had received this info personally.

Some of you are So-So funny. Maybe next monthly meeting you could record there conversations and sent to late nite shows (very late night):smiley:

I live on a golf course and fire ants are constantly migrating onto my yard. AMDRO does a great job of eliminating the beasts. It is in granular form - just sprinkle near mound and they will be gone in about a day. No sprinkling needed. I keep a container readily available on the lanai. This is WAR!

Product description from Ace Hardware:

AMDRO FIRE ANT GRANULES
Also kills harvester ants
Worker ants will find bait,
carry it back to the queen
One pound kills up to 17 mounds

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com...73.html?ref=42

I responded in the same medium that the question was asked.

Sorry. Kinda. You may be an English Major but I am a Science Major and pouring a little club soda on your lawn wouldn't hurt anything.

However, I don't know anything about the law, so someone else can warn us about copyright infringements. Freeda and VillageKid leap to my mind.

P.S. I forgot to call you Mr. Administrator, Sir. Boomer gets by with being a little cheeky when she does that but she has the correct parts of speech.

Run Gracie Run and say Goodnight Gracie.

What???? And English major???? You think I am an English major????

Yup. You are a gol darned English Major...and a journalist. I have both in my family and I recognize the symptoms.

Hanging my head.

:ohdear: