Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:58:49 -0400, "
wrote:

The trick with fire ants is not to hurt them. Jump in the pool or
gently try to knock them off. If you crush one and he releases his
pheromone, the rest immediately bite.
Not here...they are on you in a swarm and bite in unison it seems. No
warning, no creepy-crawly feeling, just sudden multiple stings.
I bet you killed one right before they all decided to bite. It can be
an accident, just move the wrong way and crush one and the rest are on
the war path.

My tolerance to ant bites has diminished greatly since my heart surgery, and
I think it is from the blood thinner coumadin. The other day, I had to go
to my cabin. I had to get under it to get some stuff out. My left leg has
no feeling zones due to vein harvesting for the heart bypasses. I had a
fire ant bite me, and I could not feel it. Apparently, he was there for
quite a while. I got a 3/4" nice red mound on my shin that oozed clear
liquid for three days, like a spider's bite. It finally scabbed over.
Another on my forearm, and another on my face. I cannot imagine getting hit
by a bunch of them like I knew in the South. I got hit by five yellow
jackets on my leg last summer, and that was no fun. Big welts with clear
oozing fluid for three or four days. The good thing was that I couldn't
feel three of them. Since then, I have heard WD40 and ammonia are good
emergency treatments.

I would not use any harsh chemicals on bites when there might be a
chance of infection or delayed healing...I use ice on bee stings, for
the pain. Fire ant bites, although rather intensely painful at first,
don't bother me a lot...get a white bump like a pimple and then it goes
away soon. Had a bite once that took months to heal...probably some
kind of spider. It wasn't broken skin, but purplish discoloration under
the skin. If your skin is dry, use lotion like Eucerin or some such...a
little less vulnerable to injury when you protect your skin. Go fishing
and let someone else crawl under the cabin )

I've been away for about five weeks, and things around the ranchita here
have gotten way out of hand. Foxtails up the wazoo, and lots of ant mounds.
I'll probably be dispensing Amdro tomorrow. I do want to go buy some grits,
though, and do an experiment on two sides of the house. I have two acres to
experiment.

Put down enough grits and you might get a crop of rats )

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com watch for the book

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.