Fire Ants Kill Winter Texan in the RGV

TomG2 wrote:
A fellow in our park put his knee on the ground while washing his car. He won't do that again. It looks awful.

I put my hand on the ground will lowering the spare tire on my wife's minivan when she got a flat. I got bit about 3 times on my fingers. Fingers and toes are the worst place to get bit.

Now that I've been biten a dozen or more times, it doesn't hurt much anymore.

Fire ants attack to protect their nest, not to feed like Mosquitoes. I don't think Off would help. Avoidance is the best protection.

-Michael

Does OFF or any of the other such items cause the ants to avoid a person?

pjsky wrote:
Come to Yuma AZ. NO ANTS

but the snakes are big

Fire ants creating a ball to survive flooding and fire ants on your body are two entirely different situations.

If they are on your body, immersion in water will cause them to release from your body.

Dog Folks wrote:

jjjandrbaker wrote:

LynnandCarol wrote:
But in Texas (really anywhere) you must always watch where your feet go!

This is so true. Most of us have developed the art of constantly looking at our feet when standing or sitting anywhere fire ants are likely. It is always best to catch it when there are only one or two ants crawling on your shoes, than to wait for a sting. More often than not, a sting is a harbinger of several more to come. Anyone who has done the fire ant "get nekkid quick" dance, learned the hard way to be vigilant. I once stood on the edge of a pond fishing. I had more than 80 stings by the time my dance was over.

Shoulda jumped in the pond. :)

Fire ants will dig in more when sprayed with water....and will form a ball of themselves to survive flooding waters! Don't jump in the water to get rid of fire ants! Here in central Florida we have to poison all the ant hills as soon as we park our RV. The management sprays too so eventually they move their hills (and queen) away from the sites. Their bites are nasty and We don't let our dog lay in the grass, ever.

Come to Yuma AZ. NO ANTS

Johno02 wrote:
I stand corrected, but agree that all are bad news.

You are 100% right about that.

I stand corrected, but agree that all are bad news.

I was introduced to those suckers in Florida myself...went out to the toad late at night wearing only my shorts cuz I'd forgotten the sippy cups. Went to relock the car and realized my keys were in my pocket. Set the cups on the ground, locked the car and carried the cups into the coach. Realized something was on my stomach and saw ants. Next day was ugly...research shows the ants will swarm and when one ant gives the signal, ALL the ants will sting at once !....I now carry a container of fire ant poison on board.....Dennis

LynnandCarol wrote:
Although we do it without thinking about it, as it is now a habit for us. But in Texas (really anywhere) you must always watch where your feet go!

After a few years here, an alarm goes off in your head when you step on a mound. You feel the soft ground and start doing the dance! The quicker you are the likely you are to avoid any bites. :B