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Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / July 2008Crazy Rasberry Ants
Are you getting these ants up in your area? Crazy Raspberry Ants I live in South Houston and we are getting them.  SignatureMoe Jones http://www.MoeJones.info > Are you getting these ants up in your area? > Crazy Raspberry Ants > > I live in South Houston and we are getting them. I thought this was a joke at first. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3941545.ece -sw >> Are you getting these ants up in your area? >> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > -sw The article specified that "Unfortunately, the ants also like to suck the moisture from plants". All the grass and weeds immediately in the front of the house in fall seemed to have died from lack of water. Whereas, the rest of the yard was fine. I did notice numerous small orange colored ants on the porch the past few days. They were bigger than fleas, another link said they are same size as fleas. Looked similar to "sugar ants" my grandmother called them. I've seen no fire ants in the vicinity of the front of the house as matter of fact. I checked here with a picture of said culprits: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24620246/ Haven't seen these. No grubs in the ground either. Really strange. SignatureDave Parkinson's disease, not easy to define. Much less cure. > Are you getting these ants up in your area? > Crazy Raspberry Ants > > I live in South Houston and we are getting them. Just read about them today. They are hoping the little bastards will stay close to the coast. From what I read they eat fireants and kick their butts completely. Good luck. jOhN > > Are you getting these ants up in your area? > > Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > jOhN If they eat fireants, they are WELCOME here! Somebody ship me a colony, quick. ;-) We can't grow raspberries here anyway. The climate is wrong. SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >>> Are you getting these ants up in your area? >>> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > We can't grow raspberries here anyway. The climate is wrong. Careful what you wish for....they're named rasberry because of the guy who discovered them. Apparently they are a mucho prolific species and can multiply beyond the ability to control them even with pretty deadly pesticides. The Rasberry guy is a pest control operator and he thinks they are bad news for his business since their resistance to control leave his customers unsatisfied. He goes on to say he probably loses money on every job in order to attempt to satisfy his clients. Chase down some info on the web if you want to know more. Heck, they even take down computers according to an article in Information Week! http://tinyurl.com/6ftvwn > > If they eat fireants, they are WELCOME here! > > Somebody ship me a colony, quick. ;-) [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > http://tinyurl.com/6ftvwn Yeah, I saw that when I read up on them. Thing is, fire ants do THE SAME THING, even building nests in computers, and electrical boxes. But fire ants destroy wildlife and damage humans too. If I had a choice between the two, at least the Rasberry ants don't hurt so much, or kill like fire ants do. The lesser of two evils. ;-) SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >>>> Are you getting these ants up in your area? >>>> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > http://tinyurl.com/6ftvwn Did see something on TV about them as well. They (TV) emphasized electronic gizmos. Yet, they showed an extremely short video of a well pump solenoid as an example. This is an ELECTRICAL device with moving parts (relay) that activates a pump deep within the ground. Think both the news media and others should look into the difference between electrical and electronic before trying to convey facts, irregardless if the general public does not know the difference. A well pump is a source of water, which can be more important than any PC. SignatureDave Parkinson's disease, not easy to define. Much less cure. >>>>> Are you getting these ants up in your area? >>>>> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > know the difference. A well pump is a source of water, which can be more > important than any PC. Not if that PC controls 50 well pumps ;-) >>>>> Are you getting these ants up in your area? >>>>> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > know the difference. A well pump is a source of water, which can be more > important than any PC. We were having ants get on pump relays back in the '60s, before fire ants were around. Every so often, there wouldn't be any water in the house and one of us kids would have to go down to the pump house and bang on the solenoid with a screwdriver to knock all the ants out of it. I'm not sure these things have spread enough for us to tell yet what sort of impact they're gonna have on wildlife. Bet the overall consequences won't be good, though. DT > >>>>> Are you getting these ants up in your area? > >>>>> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > DT Better than fire ants... The fire ants are wiping out ground nesting birds such as meadowlark and bobwhite quail. SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >>>>>>> Are you getting these ants up in your area? >>>>>>> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > Better than fire ants... The fire ants are wiping out ground nesting > birds such as meadowlark and bobwhite quail. The rasberry's are taking out the fire ants so I'm kinda guessing they are not particularly benign ;-) The species they say is related in South America may kill animals by clogging their breathing passages.........not a good visual. Too many of any species is not a good thing. > > Better than fire ants... The fire ants are wiping out ground nesting > > birds such as meadowlark and bobwhite quail. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Too many of any species is not a good thing. While I see what you mean, the bloody fire ants are already out of hand. I used to do wildlife rescue. Fire ant fawns are not pretty... SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >> > Better than fire ants... The fire ants are wiping out ground nesting >> > birds such as meadowlark and bobwhite quail. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Fire ant fawns are not pretty... Ants in general do the cleanup duty of carcasses in drier areas of the country. I have seen carrion eating birds jumping wildly near some not so fresh carcasses, then flying away. A closer inspection I saw fireants. I tend to thing there is some relationship between the very obvious decline of harvester ants, and the fireant population. I do not see any horned toads any longer. http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/l-5314.html There may be similar implications with another species of ant roaming the local area. SignatureDave > >> > Better than fire ants... The fire ants are wiping out ground nesting > >> > birds such as meadowlark and bobwhite quail. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > country. I have seen carrion eating birds jumping wildly near some not so > fresh carcasses, then flying away. A closer inspection I saw fireants. The fire ants KILL fawns, not clean them up after they die on their own. I was talking about trying to save one still living that has several thousand stings. :-( > I tend to thing there is some relationship between the very obvious decline > of harvester ants, and the fireant population. I do not see any horned [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > There may be similar implications with another species of ant roaming the > local area. Yeah, but at least you can let the rasberry ants crawl on you. I'd not try that with fire ants... It all comes down to the lesser of two evils, kinda like Presidential candidates. <g> SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >> >> > Better than fire ants... The fire ants are wiping out ground nesting >> >> > birds such as meadowlark and bobwhite quail. [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > It all comes down to the lesser of two evils, kinda like Presidential > candidates. <g> Didn't mean to digress from the live-kill on fawns issue. Excuse my insensitivity. At this point, we don't know all the potentials for the rasberry ant altering the native habitat. So, I reserve my own judgment on that end. SignatureDave > Didn't mean to digress from the live-kill on fawns issue. Excuse my > insensitivity. It's ok. :-) Unless you have actually worked with one, it's difficult to imagine the horror. > At this point, we don't know all the potentials for the rasberry ant > altering the native habitat. So, I reserve my own judgment on that end. On that we can both agree... I just hate fire ants so! SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >> Didn't mean to digress from the live-kill on fawns issue. Excuse my >> insensitivity. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > I just hate fire ants so! Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply build underground and disperse the unearthed soil about to hide their location. Stealthy versions, apparently. Now, that scares me. No, not kidding. Wonder how long it will take entomologists and exterminators to express that to the public in general? SignatureDave Memorial day: In honor for those who served and died for your freedom of speech, exercise that right where you fear repercussion the most for your voiced opinion. > Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building > mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Wonder how long it will take entomologists and exterminators to express that > to the public in general? They will generally mound a little right before a rain... SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein > Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building > mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Wonder how long it will take entomologists and exterminators to express that > to the public in general? And here I thought I hadn't found any mounds because it has been too dry this summer for the nasty little f*cks to make a living...Fleas, fleas I got in spades, but nary a fireant heap have I seen since...April andmaybe earlier. In article <c6fe2675-c629-42fd-ab3c-1a351ec80208@q5g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, > > Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building > > mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > fleas I got in spades, but nary a fireant heap have I seen > since...April andmaybe earlier. If you have fleas, you probably have no fire ants. Eating fleas is about the only thing they are useful for. Beneficial nematodes DO work for fleas, but not if the soil gets too dry. They are best dispersed in early spring. SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >I just hate fire ants so! Me too. But control of Solenopsis invicta is within our reach, if not quite within our grasp. The phorid fly approach still shows great promise, although it will be a decade or so before there are enough of them out there to do any good. For local control, both Amdro and Logic still work and are environmentally close to benign. On the other hand,the raspberry ant, Paratrenicha sp. (near pubens), is apparently very difficult to control. The man who first noticed them basically says that he hates it when he gets a call about them because he knows the caller will be disappointed. And, while they have no stinger, they are far from harmless. They suck the moisture from plants, feed on beneficial insects such as ladybugs (ladybird beetles) and eat the hatchlings of the highly endangered Attwater prairie chicken. Elliot Richmond Itinerant astronomy teacher > >I just hate fire ants so! > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > them out there to do any good. For local control, both Amdro and Logic > still work and are environmentally close to benign. I use Amdro mostly, and beneficial Nematodes. I was unaware that Phorid flies ate fire ants... I try to discourage those as they tend to get into crops of Oyster mushrooms and other edibles. > On the other hand,the raspberry ant, Paratrenicha sp. (near pubens), > is apparently very difficult to control. The man who first noticed [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Elliot Richmond > Itinerant astronomy teacher Do poison baits work on them? SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >I was unaware that Phorid flies ate fire ants... There is a species that is parasitic on fire ants exclusively. When in balance, the ants are controlled because as soon as a fly appears, they dive underground. So their foraging is limited. >Do poison baits work on them? Good question. I do not know. The colonies do have multiple queens, so that would make targeted baits less effective. Elliot Richmond Itinerant astronomy teacher http://www.utexas.edu/news/2006/09/27/biology/ http://www.bugsaway.com/phoridfly.htm SignatureDave > >>I was unaware that Phorid flies ate fire ants... [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Elliot Richmond > Itinerant astronomy teacher > http://www.utexas.edu/news/2006/09/27/biology/ > > http://www.bugsaway.com/phoridfly.htm Thanks! SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein > >I was unaware that Phorid flies ate fire ants... > > There is a species that is parasitic on fire ants exclusively. When in > balance, the ants are controlled because as soon as a fly appears, > they dive underground. So their foraging is limited. Ah! Cool. I'll have to look for that. I've had good luck with beneficial nematodes. They are more effective against fleas than fire ants, but I'm not having to fight them as hard as I used to. Of course, whenever any appear, I keep Amdro on hand. <g> > >Do poison baits work on them? > > Good question. I do not know. The colonies do have multiple queens, so > that would make targeted baits less effective. Not if, like Amdro and fire ants, they feed the bait to the queens. Then there is Logic, a sterilant. > Elliot Richmond > Itinerant astronomy teacher SignaturePeace! Om "Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein >> Are you getting these ants up in your area? >> Crazy Raspberry Ants [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > stay close to the coast. From what I read they eat fireants and kick > their butts completely. They have my vote, then. -sw |
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