Fire Ants Already?

[dirtlooter]

It was 24 degrees this morning but the sun finally warmed things up to 55 or so. I had waited for it to warm p and was back at an area where I hoped to find an older coin. I found a few coins but nothing old and was digging some irony iffy signals etc as I tried to clean out the area. I managed to find 8 or 9 22 brass, several didn't sound like the others and they had my hopes up. I finally found an old brass looking wedding band, the second one in this large permission. As I started to detect again, I felt the tell tale signs of fire ant stings but they were up on my arm around the cuff. I killed a couple but they kept stinging and I realized that the cuff was actually covered with them. So, I smashed as many as I could and knocked the others off. Then I felt my right foot and ankle lighting up and looked down to see my leg and shoe covered in them. Fire ants weren't exactly on my mind, I could see several of the larger mounds but all of the mounds were flattened from recent rains and no activity because IT IS WINTER! There wasn't any large mounds where I got into them but I could see a couple small flat muddy spots. I guess I just over looked them but they didn't over look me. I will end up with the little pus pockets at each bite and sometimes tiny scars but they are more aggravating to me than being real painful. From the looks of it, its gonna be fire ant city this year at the permission and I am just glad that I am not allergic to them as some are. Compared to the yellow jackets and hornets, they are just a pain in the butt. So be aware that they are still very active as it warms up. DL

 

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[azdirtdigger]

I'm an Arizona boy, No fire ants in AZ. Just scorpions, centipedes and rattlesnakes .

My first experience with fire ants was in Texas. While setting up the motorhome at a new location and I saw a gopher mound in our new front yard. Now, I HATE GOPHERS! I waged (and lost) a long term war with them on our property in AZ. With malice in my heart, I walked over and flattened the gopher mound/fire ant den. I learned really quickly how aggressive those little %*##O%!^s are.

 

[GB1]

here in TX its hogs,snakes,spiders, and scorpions

 

[Tnmountains]

We have been in single digits and teens this winter. My brother found a baby tick on his arm while trimming all the bushes. The fire ant mounds? I have not kicked one yet.

 

[azdirtdigger]

here in TX its hogs,snakes,spiders, and scorpions

At least we didn't have the hogs to deal with. Do wear Rattler" headphones. I like to be able to hear what's going on around me.

 

[Tnmountains]

here in TX its hogs,snakes,spiders, and scorpions

I used to play down on The Brazos. Lots of Hogs and cotton mouths. Great country.

 

[civil_war22]

I hate fire ants. BigWaveDave knows all too well how much they suck. While him and I were hunting a property he got ate up pretty good

 

[Jason in Enid]

I've never seen a fire ant mound. The only ant mounds we have in my area are from the plain old red ants. Now, those stupid, tiny, true fire ants are invisible until you are in the middle of them. I've dug numerous targets that turned out to be in the middle of a fire ant nest. Nasty little buggers. Ant bites are a pain for a day. fire ant stings leave me with welts for a month.

For anyone reading who doesnt know what a fire ant is, its not a real ant! Ants will bite and inject formic acid which causes the pain. Fire ants are a wingless relative of wasps and they dont bite, they hit you with a stinger on their abdomen.

 

[civil_war22]

I've never seen a fire ant mound. The only ant mounds we have in my area are from the plain old red ants. Now, those stupid, tiny, true fire ants are invisible until you are in the middle of them. I've dug numerous targets that turned out to be in the middle of a fire ant nest. Nasty little buggers. Ant bites are a pain for a day. fire ant stings leave me with welts for a month.

For anyone reading who doesnt know what a fire ant is, its not a real ant! Ants will bite and inject formic acid which causes the pain. Fire ants are a wingless relative of wasps and they dont bite, they hit you with a stinger on their abdomen.

Jason we have those same dang mounds all over our football field. We had to move the kids several times this year due to them being so bad and the school not wanting to do any pest control on their lawns

 

[Jason in Enid]

Jason we have those same dang mounds all over our football field. We had to move the kids several times this year due to them being so bad and the school not wanting to do any pest control on their lawns

That sucks. I cant believe the school wouldnt do something to keep the practice fields and playgrounds free from fire ants. shameful.

 

[ThomasJames]

The fire ants bite is very dangerous. Fire ants can bite and produce painful, red bumps. But they are a very little bit in our house. My friends stay in Connecticut. She was having bundles of Ants in her house that too not only in one place. They were being spread in many places. She was very frustrated seeing this, so she called up (deleted by mod rule violation) She took help of them to Pesticide her home. Now it has been almost 6 months, she is not facing any problem.

 

[boogeyman]

Fire Ants!! Try this. An ole timer showed me the trick. It's called Hot Shot Fire Ant Killer2. He'd go out to a permission site and sprinkle a small pile on every mound he could find the day before he was going to hunt. The piles would be gone next day & no problems hunting. I got 5 cans from Dollar General $2 a can - worth $500 a can! Truly amazing how much of the crystals the little boogers can carry off in an hour or so!!
Other ants I've been using this. Mix several spoonfuls of Boric Acid with several spoonfuls of sugar in hot water. When it's all dissolved throw in a bunch of cotton balls. I use chopsticks to place a ball or two next to nests & along trails. In a day maybe two ants all gone! The best part is if you have dogs or kids it won't hurt em if they get in it.