Yesterday afternoon it was sunny and warm and dr cleaned out the bed of the truck and I took my long handle magnet out and swept the driveway and parking area. In one spot was a large area of ants crawling around so I sprinkled the area with ant powder. They retaliated. Sometime during the afternoon I picked up some ant bites. Maybe it was when I was using the magnet or maybe it was when I raked the garden area and picked up the debris and threw it to the goats. This morning I have two red lumps with a white dot in the center on one of my fingers. It is very sore to touch or when bumped. It'll hang around for a few days and fade to just a red mark and then go away. I wonder if anyone has ever told those darn ants that it's winter until March 21st and they are supposed to be hibernating. dooley
OUCH those ant bites sound nasty Dooley. Thankfully our ants don't seem interested in biting but I do seem to be prone to midge bites. I hope your finger stops hurting soon. Tell DR to give those pesky ants a telling off from me and to leave my friend alone in future. :-x
Obviously the ants don't have a calendar or can't read. Global warming may have them all confused. Some ant powder on their ant hill may make them think twice before biting you again. I wonder if a kettle of hot water works. it's cheaper than ant powder. Jerry
I keep a container of Ortho Fire Ant Killer by my side when I am playing in the dirt, sprinkle a little on the mound or area and bye, bye Queeny and the kids.
I sprinkled the ants with some kind of fire ant killer but I don't know just where I picked these up. Usually I feel the bite. I never had this problem before moving to Texas. These were little black ants, not red ones. Raid ant spray works on them too. dooley
Hey Dooley, I could use those ants. I have a resident toad in the greenhouse this year and he/she is getting hungry. Today I was out scrounging for bugs and worms to feed it. Otherwise you could sprinkle the ants with instant grits or diatomecious earth. I have heard that the INSTANT grits act as a desiccant when ingested, the DE dehydrates them through making microscopic abrasions on their bodies. Hope your hand feels better soon. Try soaking it in some epsoms salt. It might feel better.
For those of us not so afflicted the pesky ants have a season? It would seem that the season would start after mid winter . Yes? No? Jerry
Normally those nasty fire ants stay hidden away (mostly) during winter. But it's been so warm lately... they are confused, just like the plants... and humans too I guess! :-D
Ouch! Heal well and quickly Dooley. We've only got rather benign ants, but they can be bothersome if there are too many of them.
We had an inch of rain yesterday, and today I noticed fire ant mounds as I was going to the barn. The ants come up when the ground gets wet (maybe that's why they like Texas so much, they get to spend a lot of time underground). I hate fire ant bites--they itch like crazy, then the spot gets sore, and finally it goes away just in time to get bitten again. I use vinegar or boiling water on the hills. With all the fire ants we have, I could go broke buying commercial killer. Dooley, I bet the little buggers were in the garden debris that you picked up. Maybe you ought to wear gloves whenever possible.
I have decided not to fight with them, just have to live around them .... then once in a while just to show who is boss I trampled on them and they bit me to remind me we can live together!! OUCH!!
Yikes I am glad our ants don't play with fire. But we do have army ants that will inflict a nasty bit if you happen to disturb their mound. I to sprinkle Diatomacious earth on their mounds. Have you tried Ban deodorant on your bites? It's suppose to be really good at relieving bites from other bugs.
Dooley, keep some Benadryl and either Hydrocortisone cream or Caladryl lotion on hand. Benadryl will ease the symptoms of the alergic reaction caused by the toxin injected through insect stings/bites. Hydrocortisone cream or Caladryl lotion on the sting site will help it heal and ease the itch and pain.
I do use hydrocortisone cream sometimes but have a problem if I use too much of it. I generally wear gloves when working outside but I wasn't outside to do garden work. I was only using the magnet on the driveway. I think I'll just have to hang a pair on by belt everytime I go outside because I'm always just going to look at something and ending up pulling it or cutting it off or moving it somewhere else. Most of my outside/gardening work is spontaneous and not planned. dooley
