Monday, November 30, 2009

Being Thankful for small favors

Recently I visited friends that moved just outside of Charlotte, NC. It was a nice warm autumn day, we were outside in their backyard. I thought it was safe to wear sandals. My friends were showing me a landscaping problem they had and how they hope to solve it, when all of a sudden my bare toes started to feel somewhat hot and tingly, and not in a good way. And I look down and I see three small ants locked onto my big toe.
Yikes!

" what the heck was that!?"
"Oh, those are fire ants." my friends tell me.
"You gotta be careful where you walk down here".
They were not kiddin'!!!

These nasty brown red ants sneak up onto you, then one of them gives a signal and they all chomp down on your skin, and much like a pit bull they hold on but then proceed in a circular motion, ripping a hole into your flesh. Real nasty buggers. And a huge problem down south. I was told I was lucky that only three ants grouped together to attach me. This was probably due to the fact it was past their active season, but still, if you disturb their mound, they will wake up and will swarm looking for the invader no matter the time of year.

So far, no reports of these "pain in the big toe" ants in the Big Apple area. For this I am thankful, because two weeks later and I'm still scratching the bite area. Our cold winters no doubt are protecting us from one nasty biting ant. New York has enough pest problems without these ants making the scene. But you can be sure, Connex Environmental has already been educated on them and we know how to deal with any kind of ants. 3HGEXWNTSA3P

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