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Bites And Stings Article
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How To Combat Ant Bites
Strangely enough fire ants are a member of the wasp and bee family. Their scientific name is hymenoptera. They are vicious and will attack anyone or anything they feel is a threat to their colony.
South American Bullet ants have the most painful of all ant bites and insects in general. These ant bites are not considered life threatening.
Jack Jumper ant bites of Australia have the potential to kill their prey, humans included.
There are two types of fire ants, which are harmful packing a burning fire -like sting
Red Imported Red Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta) is the most aggressive of the two varieties. These ants have a venom pouch containing piperidine alkaloids.
The sting from these ant bites are painful, and produce white fluid filled bumps on the skin.
Southern Fire Ants (Solenopsis xyloni) The sting from these ant bites this are not as painful but still causes the same itchiness and blisters.
Ants are used in many parts of the world to control other insect populations. But the carpenter ant, pharaoh ant, and argentine ants, are under government order to be controlled or completely eradicated as the case may be.
Some home remedies for controlling ants and ant bites
- The first thing is to ant proof your home, seal up all cracks and crevices and areas where they can get into your home.
- You will also want to keep your lawns and shrubbery moved or trimmed.
- Ants dislike mint and will stay away from it, therefore plant mint all around the outside of your home.
- Treat your window and doorsteps with citronella, peppermint, cinnamon, citrus, or lavender solutions of one teaspoon to one quart of water.
- Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a non toxic powder that can be spread on window ledges etc to keep out the nasty pests. This product destroys the exoskeleton. Nevertheless, still wear a mask when using this product so to prevent respiratory problems.
- You can pour boiling water on the ant hill but this method is risky, the ants will come after you in droves and attack viciously, still you may not get the queen and the colony will persist. This means the risk of ant bites could persist.