When Fire Ants Attack: My Backyard Became a War Zone

🔥 They come without warning, build their bunkers overnight, and bite like they’ve got nothing to lose. Welcome to life in South Texas, where fire ants rule the land—and your ankles.

They are back and at it again. These creatures do not know how to quit. I have done my best to discourage them. I am a non-violent person but they forced me to turn to violence to get rid of them. I’m talking about fire ants. If you are not from South Texas or other parts of the Southwest US you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not, perhaps you’ve read about them but have not experienced them. When we get rainy weather the fire ants suddenly out of nowhere produce these dirt mounds. They look innocent enough. You may even be tempted to kick it and step on one. Don’t do it. When I walk through my yard my eyes are always looking down. There is a possibility of a rattlesnake or coral snake, but I’ve seen neither one in my yard. Although, I have neighbors who’ve had both. I’m more interested in the fire ants. A few years ago I was picking some rosemary too add to my dinner meal. I was wearing crocs with no socks when I felt their bite. I dropped the rosemary. Ran to my patio and discarded my pants, and brushed the fire ants off my legs as best I could before I headed into the shower. I showered hoping to get rid of every fire ant that was on me. After I dried off, I sat down and started looking at the damage. I had 47 bites on 1 foot. I also had three bites on my calf and two bites as high as my thigh. Those little creatures can move. And they take no prisoners. I grabbed my iPhone and searched for any help I could find in treating these fire ants bites. Trusting the advice of someone who had experienced fire ant bites I smeared my fire ant bites with Purell. That’s the stuff you put on your hands to make sure you’re not going to get Covid or the flu or anything between the two. It seemed to alleviate my pain. The pain was only the beginning. Fire ant bites stay with you for a couple weeks. The bites grow into a little pussy heads. Sleep was beyond question when the itching started. It took all the will power I had not to scratch my bites. Now you can understand why I keep a container of fire ant poison in my garage. As soon as I see one of these hills I am ready to exterminate. It only eliminates them for a little while and then they come back. These guys do not learn their lesson. They’re like some human beings I know. I try to stay away from them as too..

🕵️‍♂️ 3 Speculative and Engaging Questions:

1. Are fire ants secretly planning their next assault while we sleep?
2. If fire ants evolved into human-sized creatures, would we even stand a chance?
3. What makes a creature so small, yet so relentless—and why do they always win?