Fire ants? (Blue Ridge: work, resident, fire)

[J-Lu]

Interesting that they are showing up in CA. I spent most of my life there (in many different areas) and never encountered them.

[janschaale]

I live in Surry County near the James River. My neighbor last year freaked out when we were on the phone b/c she said she saw a fire ant. I didn't believe her, and really thought she was just over-reacting. However, 3 days later as I walked outside, one fell on my shoulder and stung the crap outta me. I swatted it, which probably drove the stinger in farther, but my shoulder swelled and was hot and HURT for almost a week.
I immediately put a trap of Boric Acid by my door and have not seen any since....simply laundry Boraxo is a great organic pesticide for lots of creepy crawlies, even carpenter ants.

[Rhett_Butler]

I think ants bite.... They don't sting as far as I know....

That said, when we owned our house north of Orlando, FL fire ants were a CHORE!!! I'd spread ant-killer all over the yard and treat individual mounds with Amdro (a different ant-killer) and would get the original mounds to go away, only to reappear 3 feet away within a few days... NASTY little buggers. Bites hurt like a b*tch and give you little whitehead pimple looking welts where they bite...

I won't miss them....

[summers19]

Hi,
yes there are fire ants in a few parts of VA. We were suprised to learn this after moving here from Florida. We also wanted to get away from fire ants in our backyard. We wanted our kids to be able to play and lay around in our yard without fear of being bitten or hurt by fire ants...thus the move from FL (among other reasons). In Chesapeake, VA in the Fall of 2006 there were soccer fields that were shut down for public use due to an 'infestation' of fire ants. The city of Chesapeake takes this very seriously and sprayed the living daylights out of the soccer field (located on Cedar Road next to Tidewater Community College). The city has also requested that citizens contact them immediately when they spot a fire ant mound so the city can take care of it.
With that said, fire ants generally aren't a major problem here yet. We certainly haven't seen any in our yard nor have heard any neighbors or friends throught the city having a problem with them.

[Pigeonracer]

I moved from Saint Petersburg to VA in May and I must say that there are a lot of different types of bugs up here that you don't see in FL. No anoles (lizards) here either. Fire ants aren't as much of a problem up here as they are down there, but the ticks are.

[cathyfla]

Hello,
Where in SW Virginia are you from? My husband is looking to relocate us to the Staunton area. I'm not sure if its for me. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, now living in central florida for the past 13 years. Tired of the heat, and the bugs. We have a 12 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. Need great schools, with a HS band program and soccer and other sports for my daughter. We love lots of things to do cultural and outdoors. In the past if I could I'd live in a penthouse in Manhattan, now I'm looking for a couple of acres, a quad and mountain views. I don't need to live in the city, but I need some of the conveniences. We love the beach and we love to snow ski. Are there any catholic churches? How far is the airport? Any help you can offer would be great. Thanks. CathyFla

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by LauraerieL

Hi,
I've lived in too many places on the east coast - Grew up in South Florida, lived in Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Virginia and Now North Carolina. I have lived in many cities in each state, and most places for just a year or two.

Fire Ants kinda stop around Georgia...they don't like cold and winter. I did not see any in South or North Carolina...but they do have tons of spiders here in Northern North Carolina. But, they don't have as many cockroaches in NC...so I'm thinking that they have less in Virginia.

I beg to differ...fire ants are a major problem in SC, especially near the coast. They are also a problem in Wilmington, NC. I haven't heard of them in VA, but definitely in FL, GA, SC, and NC. I WISH we didn't have them in SC, though!

I use bags of Fire Ant killer on my fire ant beds, but some of the oldtimers cook up a pot of grits (No, I'm not kidding) and pour the hot grits straight from the pot into the middle of the fire ant hills. They swear by it!

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

I beg to differ...fire ants are a major problem in SC, especially near the coast. They are also a problem in Wilmington, NC. I haven't heard of them in VA, but definitely in FL, GA, SC, and NC. I WISH we didn't have them in SC, though!

I use bags of Fire Ant killer on my fire ant beds, but some of the oldtimers cook up a pot of grits (No, I'm not kidding) and pour the hot grits straight from the pot into the middle of the fire ant hills. They swear by it!

i'm with Scbeaches. saw a few of them outside wilmington, NC never saw any in VA HR or NoVA.

[hikers]

As a burgeoning armchair entomologist, I have been following the development of the SINV-1 virus to eradicate certain fire ants. Try this link: http://www.pestcontrolindustry.com/a...gets-Fire-Ants

[seanpecor]

The best ant control solution I've found is http://www.epestsupply.com/antpro.htm. I have four of these around the house and have used them for a couple of years with 100% effectiveness. The ants climb in, drink up, and bring the sweet nectar back to the colony. This process is repeated and within about two weeks the entire colony is dead. It is purported to work on fire ants as well.

Sean