Ow.

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 07/29/2019 at 11:53 • Filed to: None

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I have fallen victim once again to t he scourge of the South.

I had finished setting up a low-volume automatic watering system for the front flower bed yesterday and thought I’d take a few moments to pull some weeds. I didn’t spot the fire ant mount because it was hiding under the mulch. Little bastards coordinated their attack and hit both my hand and my ankle at the same time. Twelve stings on my hand and wrist, fourteen more on my ankle.

I know, people like to call them “bites,” but the truth is that it’s both a relatively harmless bite combined with a very effective sting. If you’ve never had the joy of being stung by a fire ant, you should know that they are aptly named. It does feel like little needles of fire piercing your skin. I’ve been stung by a scorpion, a true bug, and several species of wasps . Each has their own brand of pain. Fire ants, taken individually, aren’t that bad. Their trick is the coordinated attack so you’re never being stung just once.

So, if you ever come to the South, watch out for the ants. They can be vicious.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 11:55

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Fire ants suck. When I find a mound, I kill them with extreme prejudice. But they will outlast humanity, and the battle for domination of the Earth will be fought between fire ants and cockroaches.

For Sweden > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 11:58

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You’re in America just shoot the ants

facw > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 12:00

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I got bitten/stung while cycling . Apparently I picked up some on my shoe when stopping at some point (paved path, but I pulled over on the grass to refill my water bottle ) , and they migrated up to where they could actually get me. Luckily there were only two or three, but still annoying.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 07/29/2019 at 12:02

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The only way to get some relief is to have a coordinated attack of our own. The trick is getting all of the neighbors to treat at the same time. That’s dang near impossible.

We have the added challenge of finding a period of time where we don’t expect rain. You want to water in any broadcast treatment, but you don’t want it to wash away. I find that we spend more time just treating individual mounds as they pop up.  

TheRealBicycleBuck > For Sweden 07/29/2019 at 12:02

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pew, pew.

TheRealBicycleBuck > facw 07/29/2019 at 12:04

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When I felt them on my ankle, I knew it was time to abandon all footwear. An hour later and there were still ants on my shoe.

smobgirl > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 12:09

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I got one wasp sting yesterday and there’s a swollen patch the size of a salad plate on my leg.  I don’t want to hate insects but they’re making it difficult.

Cash Rewards > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 12:18

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I grew up in New York, and had no real concept of what these fuckers wer e about. First year in the south, sitting on the ground, noticed "hey, those ants on my hand are red". Goddamn, did I learn real fast to respect those little bastards.

TheRealBicycleBuck > smobgirl 07/29/2019 at 12:25

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Ouch. The worst wasp sting I’ve had was a double-tap from a super-aggressive yellow jacket. I didn’t even disturb their nest. I just got too close. T hose were through my jeans. It took about nine months for the wounds to heal.

Textured Soy Protein > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 12:37

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This weekend m y wife and I went out to m y parents’ vacation house out by St. Michael’s, MD . A bunch of us were screwing around with the pool volleyball net when I felt some kind of poke on my shoulder. I looked down and saw a giant horsefly hanging out there biting the crap out of me. I swatted it away but there were several of them around the pool and they have NO FEAR AT ALL. They kept dive bombing us to try and take bites but eventually we scared them off with plentiful splashing. Bastards!

MrDakka > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 13:45

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Remember nature has been humanity's oldest enemy

TheRealBicycleBuck > Textured Soy Protein 07/29/2019 at 13:59

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I’ve been bitten by those too! It hurts like hell, but doesn’t have the lasting effects of a true sting. That’s not to discount how much I don’t want to be bitten by one. I think my overall reaction to a horsefly is a lot more, shall we say, vigorous than a wasp. In general, a wasp’s goal is to get you away from their nest and they’ll leave you alone once you move far enough away. They usually don’t want to sting you.

A horsefly’s goal is to get a meal off of you. Those little bastards don’t give up easily.

fhrblig > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 14:46

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I hate horseflies. I remember being chased by one while I was jogging in upper Michigan once. It was like being chased by a big marble with wings. Running for a couple miles with your arms flailing about is a surprisingly powerful workout. I was gassed when I was done. I hit that bastard hard a couple times and it didn't stop him at all.

Brickman > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 15:02

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my feet are scarred from those bastards.

When it rains, they build up their nest, then I come with some Talst ar P and the next day the nest is dust :D

Brickman > For Sweden 07/29/2019 at 15:03

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Good for lawn aeration :P

wkiernan > fhrblig 07/29/2019 at 15:13

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Oh, how those things suck. I once had to traverse down a railroad right-of-way that went right through the middle of the salt marshes on the North side of the Anclote River. There were hundreds of those things all around us. We had to wear bee-keeper’s hats (looks like a Victorian lady’s hat with a veil), long sleeves and gloves, in the Summer sun in Florida. It was so fucking miserable. That was before we had robotic total stations and I couldn’t really focus the transit with the veil in the way, but every time I lifted it to put my eye up to the scope those horseflies would get in and sting my face. I looked like a prize-fighter, face all puffed up, by the end of the day.

Just imagine what it was like for the guys who built the track in the first place. I see sites like that, or drive down the Tamiami Trail, or look at the sectional surveys along the North line of the State of Florida, and I really don’t know how they did it.

smobgirl > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/29/2019 at 23:48

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This thing hurts like hell. I should’ve taken Benadryl when it happened because I know they swell up like this but I didn’t want to nap through the festival. I hope your ant bites are healing up, I feel like those last forever too! 

TheRealBicycleBuck > smobgirl 07/30/2019 at 01:06

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Thanks. I used Benadryl gel immediately in hopes of reducing the reaction. Alas, they did what they usually do - turn into sores that look like really intense pimples. It usually takes about a week for them to heal. :/

I hope your sting feels better soon!