Crazy Ants Confirmed In 14 TX Counties - Can Damage Electronics, Make Yards Uninhabitable

FORT WORTH, Texas - Something crazy is spreading across Texas, and it may be so destructive that one day it will make Texans actually miss the hated fire ant. Crazy ants, so named because they move in all directions rather than in a straight line, first surfaced in Houston seven years ago and had previously been confirmed in 14 southeast Texas counties as far north as Huntsville.

Now the ants have been seen beyond the Houston area, with sightings in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. This discovery is viewed as "a significant change" by researchers who have long feared that the ants would move to other parts of the state, said Rob Plowes, a research associate with the University of Texas Fire Ant Research Center, who visited San Antonio. What concerns scientists is that crazy ants established a presence in San Antonio despite a prolonged drought. The colony was near a strip shopping center, a hotel, and a drainage canal, which provided enough moisture for the ants to survive. The best guess is that the crazy ants spread through nursery plants or perhaps hay bales.

To date, the ants have been a headache primarily for Houston-area homeowners who have seen the insects take over their homes and their yards. "They can so overwhelm a yard that your dog won't even want to go outside to pee," Texas Parks and Wildlife entomologist Mike Quinn said. "If a pet or even a person steps outside, they can be covered in ants within a minute." The effects on agriculture could be even greater, said Pearland exterminator Tom Rasberry, who first identified the crazy ants in Texas and has seen infested areas that are now devoid of wildlife. "From an ecological standpoint, when you go out into rural areas where there's an infestation, there's an eerie silence. There's a lack of insects and grasshoppers, a lack of songbirds," said Rasberry, who is worried about the impact on the beekeeping industry.

There are also concerns for other businesses. "You've got other situations just in the last couple of weeks where these ants shorted out computers and control valves on pipelines that cost one company a million dollars for just one incident," Rasberry said.

EDIT

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090913_Rising_menace_in_Texas_.html

I have had fire ants in my yard and had no trouble getting rid of them. Carpenter ants were a bigger problem because it is hard to find the nest.

spread it in the front yard in February. It works longer then AMDRO on fire ants. Its a little pricier but worth it not to have those frigging fire ant mounds in the front yard. I use cheaper stuff out back.

Cheap, and not so damaging to the environment.

boy are you gonna be in trouble. Boiling water can be torture on ants.

Nothing like the smell of freshly toasted ants on a bright summer day.

Google search, http://www.google.com/search?q=ants+boric+acid">ants boric acid

We've had good luck with diatomaceous earth.
Google search, http://www.google.com/search?q=ants+diatomaceous+earth">ants diatomaceous earth

In particular, we've used http://www.google.com/search?q=Concern+Diatomaceous+Earth">Concern Diatomaceous Earth however, your local pool supply store may stock diatomaceous earth (for use in pool filters.)

Mix it up with something they like, and they'll take it back to the nest.

I was just squashing some that have infested our work area today. They came from the DBAs cubicle. They keep food out in open containers on their work table.

On vacation down at the Outer Banks a few weeks ago, our trailer became infested with odiferous honey ants (or the locals called them North Carolina sugar ants). So far it looks like I've eradicated them, or at least knocked their population down. I removed all the foodstuffs and cleaned every freaking inch of that trailer with a 50/50 white vinegar/water solution. It's supposed to do away with their pheromone tail. Of course, I almost burnt my lungs out doing it, even with ventilation, but I haven't seen any more ants.

I'm bringing some in here to work tonight. Hopefully the vinegar smell will be gone by tomorrow morning.

the ants were terrible here in So Cal, but I haven't seen one inside my house or out in the yard for probably 8 years now. :shrug:

Send them to Gitmo!

"crazy ants"
"they move in all directions rather than in a straight line"
"colony was near a strip shopping center, a hotel,"
"take over their homes and their yards"
Sounds like a ant version of teabaggers to me.

in the Bible Belt.

need I add? :sarcasm:

Somebody must have prayed for a sign.

that there are millions of them.

Oh, no, wait: just a few thousand.

:silly:

Jesus! Sounds like one of those old "B" science fiction movies!

Big Giant Clown Shoes!

Argentine ants are small, but they are numerous, very well organized and have zero tolerance for other ants.

:evilgrin: