posted
Hi all, it's been a long time since I've been here. As soon as I saw this I knew I had to link it to Lymenet. Maybe it might help somebody. Quick search on fire ants and I didn't find it.
Regards
Posts: 90 | From RI | Registered: Apr 2003
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hi there <<<<< chunga >>>>>,
I got a question tho'... what happens if a fire ant bites one of us,right after attacking and killing a tick???
We're in Vegas, and there's lots of fire ants. and boy do they sting,as well as getting in the walls and causing all sorts of issues.
It is cool to hear that they help control the tick population tho'!!!
Thanks for the link, quite interesting.
Jus' Silverwolfi here
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
It's true that they eat ticks. The land upon which I received my many tick bites as a child, was suddenly without ticks for many years... all thanks to the fire ants that moved in.
Well, now the ants are either gone or they lost their appetites. I've only been on the land once in the past 20 yrs but my brother said the ticks are back.
It's also possible that the feral hogs brought in more ticks and the ants can't keep up with them. I'm not apt to go check it out to decide which is which though!
Silver.. I don't know the answer to your question, but it doesn't sound like it would be "safe."
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- I would hope, though, that fire ants would NEVER be encouraged or allowed to thrive just because they might kill ticks.
Fire ants have many other serious health risks for animals and people. Maybe some might not be so affected by a bite / sting but they can be fatal. Not good to encourage.
It's like burning down a house to get rid of mold problems. Only with people's lives. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
We use DE here[the diatomaceous earth powder],the fire ants are awful. Some years back a friend had to take their toddler to Hospital,after the little one found a fire ant nest.
They are scary little insects,and dangerous too. I have to agree w/ Keebler !
Lymetoo, I would bet that those hogs carry ticks too, its bad down south. TxC's nephews new stepson hunts feral Hogs, they are a serious problem, dangerous, and disease carrying too.
Jus' Silverwolfi
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
By the way, a friend of mine in Texas said they had fire ants AND ticks.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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LisaK
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 41384
posted
great. I think we have fire ants in our raspberry bushes. some red ants stung me something fierce a couple years ago. as a matter of fact, they could have stung me that same time I was gardening two years ago (in august) when I had my terrible tick disease sx come out.
but I didn't notice a mound. do they always have a mound? do all red ants bite?
-------------------- Be thankful in all things- even difficult times and sickness and trials - because there is something GOOD to be seen Posts: 3558 | From Eastern USA | Registered: Jul 2013
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Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 31149
posted
OMG, now we have to worry about getting it from ants too? Fire ants are everywhere!
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
Catgirl, I hope I didn't scare anybody! Ants have powerful antimicrobial properties and are not known to spread BB. The studies I linked suggest pretty strongly that fire ants are natural predators of ticks.
This, to me, is not a blanket statement that they are a magic bullet to eradicate ticks.
My purely anecdotal experience has been this. Living in rural NE there were zero fire ants and lots of ticks.
Living in rural central FL (slash pine forest) there were lots of fire ants and almost zero ticks.
Now we live a couple of states north of FL with zero fire ants and lots of ticks.
We've got 3 big outside dogs so we see what comes back on them.
There are pluses and minuses to just about everything. Some people are allergic to ant bites so that's bad. But some people are allergic to bee stings. Using pesticides of course has it's downsides too. Right now that's what I'm using because I don't see a choice.
If I did have fire ants around and no ticks I *might* choose not to use pesticides on them because *maybe* they are killing enough ticks to make it a worthwhile trade-off.
I've been bitten by at least 100 fire ants, and sure they sting. I've never gotten sick. They do not consider you a host and try to latch on to you and hide. If a fire ant stings you know about it right away! A tick not so much.
There are a lot of smart people here and I just brought it up for consideration, not to endorse fire ants. Anything that kills ticks can't be *all* bad, I think the world survive just fine without them. :-)
Posts: 90 | From RI | Registered: Apr 2003
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Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 31149
posted
No worries, thanks Chunga! I didn't get a chance to read or watch your link before, and stopped after reading Razzle's post. I wouldn't be surprised if anything that bites us carries lyme (JMO).
We use tick tubes and spray to help control the ticks (from a safer lawn company). I'm not sure exactly what percentage it knocks them down, but so far so good.
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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LisaK
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 41384
posted
greeat. this is what we have. deffinitely fire ants. I thought the mounds had to be like a foot or more high. but they can be small too.
can I spray for them? whith what?
-------------------- Be thankful in all things- even difficult times and sickness and trials - because there is something GOOD to be seen Posts: 3558 | From Eastern USA | Registered: Jul 2013
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