garden news-oh now they are here

GARDEN NEWS-OH NO THEY ARE HERE

i was wondering when they would get here
this would be a good spot for them
no real hot weather
no real cold freezing weather

i dont miss them at all
one good thing about moving from texas to here was 
no fire ants

if you have never experienced fire ants
dont feel bad feel lucky

i have been around ants all my life having grown up in mostly rural areas of arkansas
our ants were mostly friendly
maybe some were nuisances that got in the house 
those are usually sugar ants that dont really hurt much
just sort of annoying
they never bothered me much
i usually just left them alone
heck they were a relief to see them around after encountering fire ants

there is a reason to call them fire ants
just accidently step on a mound of them
they will all it seems attack you
you step on the mound
there is a slight delay 
then the leader says
bite and sting now
they then sting bite in synchrony

it hurts like getting a needle stuck in your leg
hundreds of needles at once

later pustules thatll look like chickenpox will form
i have seen those get infected in patients from scratching and get strep or staph skin infections 

some unlucky patients can get an anaphylactic reaction to them like a bee sting in some folks
luckily thats not common

my biggest battle was in my garden
especially after a good rain
i would pour a molasses and orange oil mixture on the mounds
they hated that stuff and would leave the garden
i never chased them around the yard 
if they didnt bother me i left them alone

our dogs definitely didnt like them
they would do the fire ant dance when they would get covered with them
dancing like they were bucking bulls 
they avoided the fire ant mounds
i think they could smell them

other problems with fire ants is that they would attach quail baby animals like deer or calves or goats
they were one of the reasons for the demise of the quail populations in texas

they also were and are notorious for getting in the electrical boxes and shorting out the wiring
like air conditioners and in garden drip lines

yes i was wondering when they would get here
according to this article in the edhat linked here they are now in montecito
think thats where oprah ellen the prince and other celebrities

its thought they were brought in on contaminated soil

i am sure they will expand to take over and will probably one day get into our community garden here

all i can say its been a good 7 year run without fire ants and its pustules its bites leave
i will miss our friendly ants that i just casually brush off or just ignore completely
the fire ants will replace most of the other ants 

i dont look forward to getting those bites again

the organicgreen doctor