NYP
Thousands of fire ants have been spotted floating on floodwaters through the Texas city and forming rafts using their bodies with residents now reporting the gross behavior.
KXAN Austin took to X to post a video taken by Austinite David Todd of the little critters, seen nestled into a large cluster in the waters of Lake Travis.
X users weighed in on the scary sight.
“A floating ball of pure hate,” one observed. more
AS LONG AS THEY’RE FLOATING THEIR WAY TO AUSTIN, HOUSTON, ETC, I’M GOOD!!
PUT THOSE RAFTS ON THE RIO GRANDE
This is scary stuff of nightmares like in the classic short story Leiningen vs. the ants that was adapted for Suspense on old time radio on CBS in the 50’s with Wm. Conrad. Or all the jillions of ants on the rampage in the crummy Indiana Jones and the crystal skull movie.
Fire ants are just the devil’s own. Even one bite is days of pain. Thousands? Just let the anaphylaxis take me.
The only treatment I’ve found effective in my yard is Bayer Top Choice. Unfortunately, it’s licensed & controlled. You can’t apply it yourself… :-/
KR
Don’t have any fire ants where I live. Nor tornadoes or hurricanes. But we do have insane politicians, crazy ass taxes. But so does Texas. I dunno. If I have to move I want to move somewhere where I can fish for bass without getting big by a gator or a cotton mouth. Maybe I’m asking too much.
@Brad,
No gators west of I-35, and all the lakes are full. Cotton mouth? Dunno… Only seen 100 – 200 rattlers since I moved here in ’04, and the .410 does them just fine. If the heat comes on, tell the city folks your kid lit off a M-80, all good…
KR
Thankfully they don’t like the cold. Saw some big fire ant hills in the 70s when I was in Georgia, they were the size of washing machines. Supposedly they grew to the size of Volkswagens in Florida. Guy in my shop was stung once, near a vein on his wrist, he got a dark stripe on his arm all the way past his elbow and ended up going to the base hospital.
“The only treatment I’ve found effective in my yard is Bayer Top Choice. Unfortunately, it’s licensed & controlled. You can’t apply it yourself… :-/ ”
Kali, Here is a generic version of Top Choice. I get $25 per 1,000 sf to treat yards for the year-long protection. Same active ingredient as Top Choice – fipronil.
https://www.siteone.com/en/83014187-quali-pro-fipronil-00143g-broadcast-insecticide-30-lb-rup/p/776347?srsltid=AfmBOopiDactfHohGhYSGFlVIJraayakM2HydunQRR_bhN_VC8nfi-Uj
I consider fire ants to be the easiest ant to deal with. If you get the liquid concentrate and apply it to trails any ant walks on, it will wipe out the whole colony, even if it’s on your neighbor’s property. Mixed at .8 oz per gallon of water, of course. Just read and follow the label. You can even squirt the mound with this and it will – not too much! – and it will kill it.
https://www.solutionsstores.com/taurus-sc-termiticide
Yes it’s a termite chemical, but it’s labeled for ant use too. Fipronil is very effective for ants and termites. Those two products should please you well.
I’ve been hit by a fire ant exactly once. It was intensely painful, really quite awful. Out of desperation, thinking the acid might help, I gently rubbed it with a cut slice of lemon. The pain just stopped, it took maybe a second or two. For me, at least, it was astonishingly effective. Whether it’s something about my metabolism that made it work for me or if it’s something that works for everybody, I don’t know. But I can’t see how it could do anyone harm, so you might want to give it a try if one or more (shudder) of the damned things bite you.
Since they are concentrated, can’t they be destroyed where they float?
Got in my socks once. Even though it took only five seconds to get my shoes and socks off in shear agony and panic to stop their biting, I had about a dozen welts on my ankles that evolved yellow pustules that lasted for weeks. Nasty infections. They must carry a bad bacteria as well as venom. The bites took over a month to go away. Bastards! 😂
Dadof4,
Nice! I’ll have to give it a try. Thank you.
KR
Thanks for the tip Dadof4. I found out the hard way about these little devils. Weeks of infected little bites. Now I’m always on the lookout when in my yard.
gasoline & fire should do it
austin will probably declare insect-rights
Insect rights now that’s something that would really bug me.
austin version of safe-t: saving ants fleeing enemy-territory
“Since they are concentrated, can’t they be destroyed where they float?”
Careful, one of my old lifting buddies pulled green chain for Michigan-Cal. They ran across a den of rattlers at the base of a dead standing. Somebody thought it would be a good idea to dynamite them. They had pissed off snakes that were blown in half falling out of the trees for days.
“Since they are concentrated, can’t they be destroyed where they float?”
Sure. Not real economical since you’d need to be there with an aerosol pyrethrin so you don’t contaminate the waterways. But absolutely you could do it. But only the mat of ants in front of you. Doyourownpestcontrol.com also sells PT P.I. – an aerosol Pyrethrin – also great for anything that flies, roaches, spiders, etc., maybe even in-laws. Your mileage may vary. I buy it by the case.
Fire ants are VERY easy to deal with. Easiest on my list. They take all baits, get wiped out by all fipronil products, and are easy to see where their mounds are out in the yard. They always have dirt. If they are in your wall, small ant bite-sized granules of dirt will be spilling out the cracks of your construction. First sign/clue what you’re dealing with.
People only get stung when they aren’t aware they are standing on a mound. So pay attention to the ground you’re standing on. They also don’t sting until they are all over your (whatever) and the first sting is a battle call for the rest to start stinging. That means they were all on you for many seconds without you noticing.
Just for information’s sake: Fire ants only bite to get a good leverage grip so they can sting you well. No toxins are delivered through their mandibles.