Posted on 10/02/2011 12:14:21 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It sounds like a horror movie: Biting ants invade by the millions. A camper's metal walls bulge from the pressure of ants nesting behind them. A circle of poison stops them for only a day, and then a fresh horde shows up, bringing babies. Stand in the yard, and in seconds ants cover your shoes. It's an extreme example of what can happen when the ants — which also can disable huge industrial plants — go unchecked. Controlling them can cost thousands of dollars. But the story is real, told by someone who's been studying ants for a decade.
"Months later, I could close my eyes and see them moving," said Joe MacGown, who curates the ant, mosquito and scarab collections at the Mississippi State Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University.
He's been back to check on the hairy crazy ants. They're still around. The occupant isn't.
The flea-sized critters are called crazy because each forager scrambles randomly at a speed that your average picnic ant, marching one by one, reaches only in video fast-forward. They're called hairy because of fuzz that, to the naked eye, makes their abdomens look less glossy than those of their slower, bigger cousins.
And they're on the move in Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. In Texas, they've invaded homes and industrial complexes, urban areas and rural areas. They travel in cargo containers, hay bales, potted plants, motorcycles and moving vans. They overwhelm beehives — one Texas beekeeper was losing 100 a year in 2009. They short out industrial equipment.
If one gets electrocuted, its death releases a chemical cue to attack a threat to the colony, said Roger Gold, an entomology professor at Texas A&M.
"The other ants rush in. Before long, you have a ball of ants," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
So the human-faced ant people speak Italian? That’s what I thought. LOL.
If one gets electrocuted, its death releases a chemical cue to attack a threat to the colony, said Roger Gold, an entomology professor at Texas A&M."The other ants rush in. Before long, you have a ball of ants," he said.
Am I missing something here? It sounds like a self-eliminating problem to me.
>>>So the human-faced ant people speak Italian? That’s what I thought. LOL.>>>
LOL!
A face only a mother could love.
But how are they in combat against fire ants?
I had a crazy, hairy uncle but he died when he ran over himself drunk on his paper route.
You made me watch that whole episode, you know.
Anyhow, aside from Brue Dern being eaten at the beginning of the show, my favorite part is whenever a bug gets killed it makes a high pitch squeal like, “Weeeeeeeh!”. Now, that’s pretty funny.
Hi, FE. Thanks for the ping. I’m not replying. I’m in timeout.
Yeah. You’re comments are as funny as the episode itself. LOL! Thanks.
Kinda like the ChiComs.
“...A camper’s metal walls bulge from the pressure of ants nesting behind them. A circle of poison stops them for only a day, and then a fresh horde shows up, bringing babies.”
You could replace “ants” with “illegal aliens” and the story still makes sense.
Thanks for the laugh! Tero is the best ant killer I've ever used.
Never heard of that before. Where can I buy it from?
Is it an effective repellent for illegal aliens, too? Maybe we should sprinkle it on the northern bank of the Rio Grande.
Borax (20 Mule Team) + powdered sugar + water, put in empty container lids and place where ever the ants are seen. Ants eat the sweet compound, take it back to nest and the whole nest is killed.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth outdoors everywhere. Can be sprinkled indoors on ledges, carpets, behind appliances and furniture. It cuts the insects like powdered glass and they dehydrate. Harmless to humans and pets.
No poisons, no big $$$ exterminators. Nor can the insects develop a resistance to either one.
So thats what those crazy ants in my back yard are, Crazy Ants!....I have had them for two summers now, and didnt know what to call them, so I just called them ‘ those crazy ants’.....
They run around like they were on speed and swarm all over your feet.
They dont seem to bother much, and they also seem to help pollinate my fruit and vegetables, though they are a nuisance when weeding and working in the garden.....
Could be a help against these damned fire ants!......
Have you noticed fewer fire ants around the past couple years?
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