Sunday, October 16, 2005

The curse of the FIRE ANTS

We live on two acres out in the country. We have our own little piece of earth. Its a good feeling, you know, having more land than you really want to mow. Turns out, though, that we have squatters present. Fire Ants are going to rule the world before too long. They want us out, and they just might succeed. They are brutal. I think there should be a movie called "When Fire Ants Attack". We have waged war on them (well my husband does it all, but I'm there cheering him on). We are losing the war so far. The are everywhere. When they bite, it stings horribly, then it becomes a little pus pocket. My son who is two went out the back door for a minute with bare feet. I don't even think he went onto the grass. There was a Fire Ant pile right there by the sidewalk, and he of course stood right in it. 2 year old children don't grasp the idea that, in these situations, the best defense is a good offense. He doesn't run away from the pile! He just stands there screaming while the ants climb all over his feet, biting him. My daughter saw what was happening and started screaming. She grabbed him and brought him in and we proceeded to slap off the ants. He had maybe 100 or more bites on his feet and ankles. This happened a few weeks ago. He still points to his feet and says, "bite!".

He has since learned how to scan the ground and quickly spot the ants when he walks around the back yard.

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