Natural Solutions to Things That Bug You by Myles Bader Read Free Book Online Page B

problems, begin with a careful inspection and look for things that the ants might use as nesting sites such as firewood. It would be best to move mulch far away from the foundation to discourage ants from nesting. Make sure exterior doors close tightly and replace weather-stripping where it is missing.
     
    RED FIRE ANTS
        
     
     
     
     
     
    General Information:
        Fire ants are known for their aggressive behavior and will swarm over anyone or anything that disturbs their nest, often even attacking wild animals, small pet or people and in rare instances, even killing them.
     
    Their very painful sting affects about 42% of people in infested areas each year. About twenty million people are stung by fire ants in the United States every year!
     
    Identifying Fire Ants
    Fire ants have been known to enter home in search of food and water when outside conditions become intolerable for them. They may look like ordinary house or garden ants, but have some very distinguishing characteristics:
     
       They vary in size within one nest, from 1/16 to 1/5 inch long.
       They are dark reddish brown in color on the head and body, with a darker abdomen.
       Their mounds can be more than 15 inches high, 15 inches in diameter and up to 5 feet deep.
       When they are disturbed they are aggressive, especially near the nest.
       They cause painful stings that raise a small welt.
       If you are not sure if what you saw is fire ants, find a long branch and disturb the dirt in the mound then stick the branch into the top of it. Stay as far away as possible and the fire ants will climb right up what they perceive as an invader (the stick). Other ants will run around in a fit trying to protect the queen.
        
    Anatomy of a fire ant
    Fire ants have tiny waists, called petioles, so that they can wiggle their rear parts freely allowing them to twist and turn their bodies in the nest. It also makes it easier for them to enter tiny cracks in your house.
     
    They are also very fastidious little critters since they clean dirt off their antennae by dragging them through the strigil (a comb) in the notch of their front legs. They also have scent glands on their abdomen, which release chemical odors that they use to mark trails when foraging food.
     
North American fire ants are unique in that they form colonies with multiple queens. The queen can live up to 2 to 7 years and in that time will bear 1,500 to 1,600 eggs per day. Some colonies may have 100,000 to 500,000 fire ants.
     
    Life cycle of fire ants
    There are four stages to a fire ant's metamorphosis:
     
1.       Egg – They are laid by the queen and are small and white. They can be deposited throughout the year, but mostly deposited during the summer months. The eggs are divided into two types: Unfertilized – become winged males who mate with the queens and fertilized, which become female workers which and are either: winged virgin queens or worker fire ants, divided into different duties in the nest.
2.       Larva – These are light in color and immobile, they depend completely on the worker fire ants for transportation, protection, and food.
3.       Pupa – These are mature larvae that transform into pupae and pupate for several weeks. Worker fire ants continue to protect them until the adults emerge.
4.       Adult – They are social insects, like bees and wasps, and duties are divided among different types (castes) of adults. Total time from the egg stage to adult fire ants averages 30 days. Worker fire ants can live up to 180 days.
     
     
    What fire ants eat
    Fire ants will eat almost anything since they are omnivores and will eat any plant or animal material, including other insects, ground-nesting animals, mice, turtles, snakes, young saplings, seedlings, plant bulbs, fruit and grass.
     
    When they forage for food, the oldest and most expendable 20% or so of the colony’s