Stupid fire ants!!!

[Jason in Enid]

I hate those little buggers! While I was hunting yesterday, I cut a plug and flipped it open. As I reached for my probe, my hand suddenly felt like it was covered in red hot needles. There were a half dozen of those tiny menaces on my hand, inflicting pain. As I brushed them off I looked down and the plug and ground were completely covered in ants. On my shoes, my pants, my detector... It can't imagine how fast they moved!

After I got them all brushed off and moved a few feet away to safety, I did use the probe to find the coin in the plug, flick it out, then kicked the plug back in and stomped it down.

Today, I wake up and my fingers are covered in burning, itching, bumps and the finger are swollen slightly.

Have I mention I hate those freaking ants?!

 

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[justdon]

Calamine lotion might work on your hands.I have had them teach me a hard lesson a few times also.

 

[Frankn]

I hate those little buggers! While I was hunting yesterday, I cut a plug and flipped it open. As I reached for my probe, my hand suddenly felt like it was covered in red hot needles. There were a half dozen of those tiny menaces on my hand, inflicting pain. As I brushed them off I looked down and the plug and ground were completely covered in ants. On my shoes, my pants, my detector... It can't imagine how fast they moved!

After I got them all brushed off and moved a few feet away to safety, I did use the probe to find the coin in the plug, flick it out, then kicked the plug back in and stomped it down.

Today, I wake up and my fingers are covered in burning, itching, bumps and the finger are swollen slightly.

Have I mention I hate those freaking ants?!

I was down on Marco Island in FL. I was getting my detector from the side compartment of the MH when I felt severe pain in one of my ankles. I look down and it was covered with little fire ants. I wiped them off and looked like I had been hit with a load of bird shot . I rushed into the MH and wiped the area down with After Bite. It numbed the area and stopped the swelling. I continued on with my adventure. After Bite Comes in a tube with a rub on dispenser. It is for all types of stings. Works great. I always carry a tube in the MH. Oh, and yes, those little buggers are fast. Frank...

 

[Alan Applegate]

Some day, diggers will learn the best defense for biting insects is in the fresh produce aisle of your grocery store—Garlic!

Yes, you're friends don't like the way your breath smells, but biters like it even worse! Chew a few cloves before your start digging, and even fire ants will stay away!

 

[austin]

Produce Guy, you live up the road from me. Do we still have fire ants in central Texas or did the drought drive them away? I don't get out in the fields much anymore and I never hear people complaining or see news articles about them...

 

[Bobbyw]

Yep. I'd say that's as bad as the yellow jacket nest I hit. What was the coin?

 

[Jason in Enid]

Yep. I'd say that's as bad as the yellow jacket nest I hit. What was the coin?

Sadly it was only a clad dime. I was hoping for a silver one, otherwise I wouldn't have kept trying to get it out.

 

[old digger]

Them little buggers sure can be aggressive, especially when you try and take their dime. ''They found it first'' Hope your fingers are feeling a little better.

 

[piegrande]

In Mexico, scorpions have a terrible bite. I several times in the night have been woken by a neighbor asking me to drive someone to the hospital. The antivenom costs around $100 a shot, and two are needed.

I can do the same thing with McCormick's tenderizer, if they get it on quick before the sting hits the blood. Make a paste out of the tenderizer powder and rub it on continuously for 10 minutes. Usually scorpion stings hurt for a month. With tenderizer it is all gone within ten minutes. I mean mix new stuff and rub on for a full ten minutes.

No reason it won't work on ant bites, too. They are pretty fierce, I admit

 

[texasvarmit]

Yep. I'd say that's as bad as the yellow jacket nest I hit. What was the coin?

I have been bit by Texas fire ants (multiples at once), yellow jackets and scorpions. Rarely does one get scorpion bit here though. I will take Fire ant bites over Yellow Jackets anytime.....the yellow jackets and (mahogany) Red wasps, are the worst IMO. They fly, and will attack you from a distance for no reason.

of course scorpions are worse, as are most bad spiders (black widow and brown recluse).

the Texas drought has put a dent in fire ants, or maybe it is Texas A&M entomologists who work to kill the buggers.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Wasp stings hurt like crazy when it happens but then the pain goes away after a day. These fire ant stings are STILL bugging the crap out of me. I woke last night wondering if I could cut my thumb off to get some peace. Never been hit by a scopion and I hope I never do!

 

[Jeremy S]

We were attacked by yellow jackets on a hiking trail in the Smoky Mountains last fall. After the first wave of attacking bees, we all took off on a fast run down the trail. While stopping to catch out breath probably a half mile from the first attack, those little devils began dive bombing us again. We were perused by yellow jackets for nearly a mile.

Fire ants are awful because they always seem to sneak up on you in large numbers. I was cutting a plug last year in South Carolina when my hand started burning. Looking down I had at least 4 or 5 on me with another handful working their way up my show. After a comical dance and shake I was finally able to get rid of them.