# Fire ant raft



## NancyNGA (Aug 31, 2016)

Trivia....

Fire ants make two kinds of bites---one type when they are a little annoyed, and the other, when they are furious. The second kind itch like crazy.  Probably being stepped on brings on the second type.  I got some bites on my ankle right now.    Like chiggers, only worse---blisters form if you scratch them even a little. 

But more important, this is what they do in a flood...


Fire Ants making a raft during a flood.  _   GO FISH!!!
_


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## debbie in seattle (Aug 31, 2016)

Too wet and cold out here in Washington.    Ok w/me.


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## NancyNGA (Aug 31, 2016)

debbie in seattle said:


> Too wet and cold out here in Washington.    Ok w/me.



You are lucky!


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## fureverywhere (Aug 31, 2016)

I lived in Florida for seven years and fire ants are one of the most miserable creatures we've ever encountered. Little bastards hurt when they bite and then leave blisters that itch and take days to heal. Worst of all they are EVERYWHERE. You can't just spray a nest or three and kill them all. Monsters they are...


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## Ameriscot (Sep 1, 2016)

I was bitten by safari fire ants in Uganda once on my sandaled feet.  Ouch!!!  We learned when hiking or walking through national parks on trails to tuck our trousers into our socks.  But still saw a few people have to drop their trousers because the ants had climbed up the legs and were biting.


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## Ed Mashburn (Sep 1, 2016)

Good evening to all- Yep, fire ants after a heavy rain- like after a tropical storm- are nasty. They get flooded out, and they are in a bad mood and they are with millions of their friends.I do hate fire ants, and I regret to say that the port of Mobile, alabama is where the nasty buggers arrived in the US. and they do get everywhere both outside and inside the house.
Just about the only way to kill a nest- not for good but for a little while- is to pour a cup of gasoline down the nest. they'll die for a little while- and then they'll move a few feet away and make a new nest.
good evening to all- Ed


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## Jackie22 (Sep 1, 2016)

I hate fire ants too.  I try to keep them out of the yard and have spent a small fortune on fire ant poison, but never really get rid of them.


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## jujube (Sep 1, 2016)

I don't think we have any fire ants here in Florida that AREN'T on a hormone-induced homicidal rage......at least I've never met any.  I did have an encounter with a "raft" before.  The yard of the neighbors behind us was higher than ours.  They went away one weekend and had some kind of pool malfunction; water was pouring out of their pool and draining down into our yard.  I stepped out into ankle deep water to take clothes off the line and, of course, stepped into a "raft".  Up my right leg they came, briskly munching on the way.  I must have had 25 bites on that leg.  I had to get steroid shots.  

My first encounter with fire ants was when I was cleaning up after a "pioneer days" celebration.  I went behind a bush to pick up trash and got into a hill of them.  My friend still likes to tease about how he first met me.  He describes it as "a madwoman runs out of the bushes with her long pioneer dress tucked up under her arms while she is desperately trying to take off a half slip."   At that point, I was the Pioneer Woman from the armpits up and a stripteaser from the armpits down (thank goodness I was wearing granny-panties instead of a thong).  I'm not sure I'm ever going to live that down.

I call the dance you do when you step in a fire ant hill the Fire Ant Fandango.


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## Carla (Sep 1, 2016)

I don't think we have them here (yet) Sure would hate to meet up with them buggers. I saw that raft thing before on TV, amazing, isn't it! They must have some degree of intelligence, even regular ants sure seem to be so organized, they work so hard. Still I do not like them invading my space. Do the bites swell? My husband used to use clear nail polish on chiggers.


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## jujube (Sep 7, 2016)

Have you ever read the short story, "Leiningen Verses the Ants" by Carl Stephenson?  Wowza.


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## NancyNGA (Sep 7, 2016)

jujube said:


> Have you ever read the short story, "Leiningen Verses the Ants" by Carl Stephenson?  Wowza.



No, but I'm going to in a few minutes.  Thanks jujube.


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## NancyNGA (Sep 8, 2016)

Jujube, I listened to that video last night and enjoyed it.  Nice to hear what those old time radio mysteries were like.  They sure knew how to create a lot of suspense.   Thanks.


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## oldman (Sep 8, 2016)

I was bitten by a group of fire ants in Florida that I had to go to Med Express for treatment. The doctor told me that they secrete an acid which causes the burning sensation. These were little things that felt like big things.


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