Artist rendering of fire ants in my yard.

I have fire ants.

That’s right, I work for a pest control company, I am treated on a regular basis, and I still have fire ants. Why is that? Well, as good of a job as Sam (the technician who treats my home) does, even he can’t anticipate where the little red devils are going to pop up. In most cases it takes 6 months for a fire ant mound to become visible. But the good news is that because I already have service, Sam is coming out to treat the mound free of charge and look for any evidence of other mounds popping up.

That brings me to my point. I have lived in Texas all of my life and I have heard of 100 different ways to get rid of fire ants. But the fact is most fire ant home remedies are bogus. Let me tell you a couple of my favorites.

1.Pour club soda on the mound and the co2 will kill everything. False. The thought is that the co2 will replace the air in the mound, but it is doubtful that the amount of co2 in a bottle of soda would be able to actually penetrate deep enough to smother the entire colony.

2. Household products like bleach or gasoline will wipe fire ants out. False. These products are not labeled for controlling fire ants and can prove dangerous to your children and pets.

3.Pour boiling water on the mound. False. Boiling water will kill a few ants and a couple of more might drown, but it won’t do enough damage to kill the queen. And speaking of the queen…

4.If you dig up one mound and place it with another, both mounds will begin fighting for territory and kill the queens. False. It would be cool to watch, but no, it won’t work.

5.If you feed ants starch or grits they will explode. False. If this was true don’t you think most boys would spend all summer hauling around a bag of grits and watching ants explode? I know I would.

If you don’t have a pest control company to handle your fire ant problem and want to handle things on your own, the best advice I can give is to be patient and read the label. But if the problem won’t go away or just seems to get worse give us a call here at the office (469) 549-7300 or email us at dallas@abcpest.com. Let us see what we can do to make your life better.

#3 in bugs, but #1 in our heart!

We’re #3!!! Congratulations Texas, you have the 3rd largest bug population in the United States. Take that North Dakota (or should we say #44)!

But seriously, this was a survey done of homeowners on how bad of a problem bugs are in their area. And according to you guys, the only two states with more problems are Florida(#1) and Louisiana(#2). So why is that? Why is it that Texas is #3?

1. It’s hot! And even when the rest of the country has cooled off it’s still warm here. (Besides last Christmas, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wear shorts on Christmas Day). Constant warmth throughout the year creates a perfect environment for bugs.

2. Humidity. It can be a beating in the DFW area, but go down to Houston or Austin during the summer and take a step outside-you’re automatically drenched. That is exactly the type of moisture that bugs love. They need a moist environment to survive. (This is one of the main reasons Florida and Louisiana are tops on the list.)

3. Because Texas is the size of…well…Texas . We encompass more land than any other state (except Alaska, but it’s one cold booger up there). That means there are more places for bugs to thrive and survive. Plus, consider the fact that we have an abundance of two considerably different environments’: urban growth and rural farm areas. The type of change and upheaval that urban growth brings makes for a wonderful breeding ground for pests. And it’s a no brainer when talking about rural farm areas and if they breed bugs (Does a cow poop in the pasture?).

The Top 10 Bug Infested States

(1) Florida
(2)Louisiana
(3) Texas
(4)California
(5)Georgia
(6)New York
(7)Mississippi
(8)Alabama
(9) Missouri
(10) South Carolina

All of this goes to say that in Texas, when dealing with pest problem, the deck is already stacked against you. In some cases a can of Raid may do the trick, but in most you need to go deeper to take care of the problem. The best solution to dealing with your bug problem is to give the professionals at ABC a call. Because once you hire us to get rid for your bugs they’re no longer your bugs, their our bugs. And we won’t stop until our bugs are dead and gone.

This week’s blog is from guest-blog contributor Nicole Roberts. Thanks Nicole!

The red imported fire ant (or RIFA) was accidentally imported from South America to Mobile, Alabama over 60 years ago from a cargo ship and quickly spread to infest more than 260 million acres of land in nine southeastern states. These states include all or portions of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

**Did You Know? Fire ants can travel long distances when newly-mated queens land on cars or trucks and shipments of nursery supplies, such as soil from an infested area, can relocate an entire colony or nest.

When the red imported fire ant reached Texas during the 1950’s it spread quickly across the state, dispersing naturally through mating flights, mass movement of colonies and floating to new locations in flood water. More than two-thirds of Texas is presently infested with fire ants, and the fire ants continue to spread westward.

**Did You Know? Just because it floods doesn’t mean fire ants will go away. Fire ants can link up and create a life boat. Check out this video featuring fire ants on the Amazon River.

It is estimated that more than $5 billion is spent annually on medical treatment, damage and control in RIFA-infested areas. It is also estimated that they cause more than $750 million in damages annually to our agricultural products, this includes veterinarian bills as well as crops and livestock lost to this pest.

**Did You Know? The red imported fire ant has the most toxic venom of all U.S. fire ants.

What’s one reason the red imported fire ant was able to spread so quickly through the southern states? Because its natural enemy, the Phorid fly was left behind in South America. The Phorid fly is a small, hump-backed fly that closely resembles a fruit fly. It’s also known as the “ant-decapitating fly” and for good reason.

The Phorid fly starts by laying its eggs in the thorax of the ant. The larvae then move to the head and develop by feeding on the muscle tissue and nervous system. In about two weeks, they cause the ant’s head to fall off by releasing an enzyme that dissolves the membrane attaching the ant’s head to its body. The fly pupates in the detached head capsule, requiring another two weeks before emerging.

**Did You Know? As a means of fighting the fire ant population, Phorid flies have been widely introduced throughout the southern states, starting in Travis, Brazos and Dallas counties in Texas, as well as Mobile, Alabama, where the ants first entered North America.

Do you have any good fire ant stories? Maybe we should rephrase that…do you have any fire ant horror stories? We’d love to hear them. And as always never hesitate to call if fire ants or any other pest are becoming a bother.

My wife hasn’t seen a spider in the past five-years that is not a Brown Recluse Spider…in her opinion. Every time she sees a spider she claims it’s a Brown Recluse (whether they really are or not is another subject). But to her a Brown Recluse invasion is underway and we are all going to be bitten in our sleep and die!!!

Now here is the truth: We’re all going to be fine. The deadliness of the Brown Recluse Spider has been greatly exaggerated over the years. Mostly by chain e-mails, TV news and folks with bad information. That’s not the only myth about spiders, here are four myths you may or may not have heard in the past.

MYTH #1: The bite of a Brown Recluse Spider is deadly!

Brown Recluse Spider

There has never been a verified reported death linked to the bite of a Brown Recluse Spider. Now this is not to say that their bite can’t be painful and even dangerous. In extreme cases the wound can produce a lesion that takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal.

If you’re worried about them sneaking up and biting you, you can forget about that as well. Brown Recluse Spiders are not aggressive. It normally bites only “when it is crushed, handled, or disturbed”. Thanks to The Ohio State Ag Extension for this helpful information. You can read their entire fact sheet here.

MYTH #2: Spiders lay eggs under a humans skin after they have bitten a person, later they hatch and bust through your skin.

Is this spider laing eggs?

You’ve heard the story about a friend of a friend of a friend who knows a girl whose sister got bitten on the face by a spider. Weeks later this same sister was walking around the mall when that swollen zit on her face exploded and hundreds of baby spiders came scurrying out. The same story that always ended with your friend saying, “I swear it’s TRUE!”. Well, it’s not. This is an urban legend that has been around for years and has no basis in reality. So don’t worry teenagers, that zit on your forehead is just a zit.

MYTH #3: Camel Spiders can get up to speeds of 30mph and are chasing our troops around Iraq.

Camel Spider or Spider-Camel?

Camels spiders are fast (a few have been clocked around 10mph), but none are in danger of violating the speed limit in a school zone. This is another myth that has gained legs through chain emails. Let’s have a little more faith in the men and women protecting our country. I’m pretty sure with all of the weapons at their disposal they can handle a few spiders.

MYTH #4: Daddy-longlegs have the world’s most powerful venom, but their fangs are so small that they can never bite you.

Not true. Daddy-Longlegs have no venom. Besides, how can anything be dangerous with the name “Daddy-Longlegs”?

Got Myths?

Got anymore myths or urban legends? Got something you want us to check out? Or do you disagree? Drop us a line or give us a call, we’ll get on the case.

And always remember if a problem pops up we can send your technician out to check the problem. Or if you’re not a current customer we will always send an inspector out free of charge to identify your problems and offer you solutions.

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Budbug

If you haven’t heard bedbugs are making a comeback, and not in a good way. After being practically absent from the pest control scene for the past few decades, bedbugs have made a resurgence. And there are many who think that in the coming years bedbugs will be the number one problem in pest control. Only time will tell, but check out these recent articles dealing with the little blood suckers and see what folks are saying.

Dino the Bedbug Sniffiing Dog

Earlier this week we had a call here at the office asking if we used pooches for bed bug detection. Unfortunately we don’t, but it prompted me to do some searching and I came across this article from Pittsburgh about beagle named Dino who put on a show recently for some school kids. You can read all about it here.

Bedbugs don’t discriminate
One misconception people have about bedbugs is that they only show up where conditions are rather filthy. Not true. Bedbugs don’t care if you are dirty or clean, rich or poor. They are hitchhikers and they go where the food is: YOU! And that food is everywhere. Recently a large infestation was found in the New Jersey offices of Goldman Sachs. You can check out more of that story here.

Banned Bugs
Finally, there are those who give legitimate pest control providers a bad name . Recently a Massachusetts man, who had been treating homes to rid them of bedbugs, was arrested by federal authorities using banned chemicals indoors and operating without certification. And to top it all off, even after his over-the-top and highly illegal treatment the bedbugs didn’t go away. Anytime you have an issue, whether it’s bedbugs, roaches or rodents, make sure you are contacting a licensed pest control professional. For the full story on click here.

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