posted by Emily
I am a lover of living things, frequently protecting toads, lizards, turtles, dogs, and cats from bored little boys. But last week in the garden with Pierre, I realized that I hold some profound hatred for the fire ant. There is no warning when they attack—a several second delay leaves prey exposed and vulnerable. Their bites last at least a month and cause almost unbearable itching and misery. I am a non-itcher, an anti-scab picker, but you MUST scratch these bites to get the poison out. So as I stepped on an invisible hill in the garden and got several bites last week, I cursed the tiny insects aloud to little Pierre. He replied, “but God made them,” probably quoting one of Miss. Emily’s ‘do good to all’ lectures. But I found myself adamantly disagreeing with Pierre saying, “no Pierre! They’re from the devil!” It was at that point that I realized if I had to choose between living with monstrous roaches or cursed fire ants, I would take roaches.
"American cockroaches are 1,5 inches long, making them the largest of the house-infesting cockroaches. American cockroaches generally live in moist areas, but they can survive in dry areas if they have access to water. American cockroaches prefer warm temperatures. In residential areas, these cockroaches live in basements, around pipes and sewers, and may move outdoors into yards during warm weather. These cockroaches can be found in basements, crawl spaces and foundations."
Garden Photo Gallery
The new squash garden is in the foreground, and the original garden behind it
Our herb garden includes lavender, oregano, basil, chives, lemon balm, mint, sage, rosemary, thyme, and cilantro.
Tomato row
We have 32 tomato plants this year, with 6 different varieties
First white scallop squash and zucchini of the year!
5 comments:
Emily
Sorry to hear about your suffering.
I just spoke to a customer who moved from Texas.
He was telling me how he was attacked by fire ants.
He said when the first one bites the others are immediately drawn to the scent of #1's poison and they all attack. He was biiten in the leg and said the ants are properly named, "fire" because that's what it feels like.
He also said they lost many new born calves to the fire ants as they could not escape. According to him they arrived in the USA on board a ship from South America that docked some where in the gulf of Mexico. A small amount of dirt was moved off the ship to land and that's how they got to the USA.
Tics used to be every where in Texas but since the fire ants moved in tics are no longer a big problem there. ( Probably not much consolation for you right now!)
I should have asked him if there are any secrets to treating the bites but I'm guessing you already researched that possibility.
We wish you well. We love you.
By the way comment # 1 was me. The garden looks great!
You're my gardening hero - it looks fantastic! Don't know if mine will survive - Chloe got into it again yesterday :(
Wow John, Thanks for your in depth American history of the fire ant! It makes me hate them even more...:)
Don't give up Megan! Once your seedlings start to grow (if it ever gets to that point), hopefully your naughty little dog will find a better way to spend her time.
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