I went to South Carolina a couple weeks ago. 14 days ago I was checking out this big ass spider that had this big ass egg sac. But I didn't get to check out the spider, cause as soon as I look at it, I feel this burning sensation on my feet (I was wearing Palmetto and crescent moon flip flops), look down and there are dozens of these ants spiraling up my foot. I step back a few steps and start wiping the ants off. My wife had a bottle of water and she poured it on my foot and washed the ants off. In West Virginia, we don't have these ants. That's why I love West Virginia. These ants you have down there are pure evil... I remember reading the Lienigan vs. the Ants story when I was a kid, that must have really sucked for Lienigan... cause it super sucked for me. After the merciless attack by those damn ants, I had these red spots on my feet. 14 days later, I still have them and it itches like hell.
Kudzu, I know you, and some other folks on this board live amongst these vile creatures. Anybody have problems like this with ant bites?
It wasn't all ant bites. Did have fun with the kids. We accomplished the greatest feat of engineering ever at Dead Pufferfish Castle. My kids and I build this sand castle, not from buckets of sand, but smaller sand bricks. We had 2 1/2 foot thick walls, water diversion trenches to make water go around the sides when the tide came in, all kinds of crap. I said, hey we need a flag, and just then, this dead pufferfish washed up on shore, so we put it on a stick for a flag and dubbed it Dead Pufferfish Castle. It lasted about an hour after the first waves hit it. It stood actually until a 2 1/2 foot + wave went over top of the wall. I thought that was quite a feat.
But those ants, they can all burn in you know where.
Last Edited by on Sep 01, 2009 7:39 PM
In your ear? WOW! The South screwed up waiting until World War I to import them. 60 years earlier, Sherman would never have made it through Georgia.
Last Edited by on Sep 01, 2009 7:45 PM
never got bit by red ants but these BIG black ants come into my house. i mean BIG. you can clearly see the pinchers on there head. an i was laying in bed one day an i felt something tickling my leg, i look an saw the fucker, an he must have known that i saw him cause right when i did he bit me an omg it felt like a bee stung me. it hurt real bad. but hes dead now an so are his friends so fuck him.
Just for point of reference, bites or stings from such ants, or bees, wasps, hornets, spiders, etc. can cause Anaphylactic shock. it is possible that even after being bitten or stung without severe reaction, the body can lose its ability to deal with the reaction. Subsequent bites or stings can be dangerous.
Epinephrine is given to relieve the shock, and that is why those allergic (particularly for bee stings) carry an "Epi" pen which is a self-administered single dose of epinephrine. In other words, stay away from them freakin' ants. It's whay I always shake out my shoes before putting them on and do the same with my harps before playing! ;-)
[note: I am not a medical person, but learned the above as a volunteer firefighter... except for the shoe thing {Boy Scouts} and the harmonica thing.]
Last Edited by on Sep 01, 2009 8:29 PM
Yes. Anyone can have an allergic reaction to anything at any given time. It is true that future stings or bites will cause a more severe reaction to the antigen.
I have some vague, half-forgotten fearful memories of fire ants in my youth, before my family moved back north. Nasty.
If you want some real nightmares watch some of those Discovery/Animal Planet/National Geographic specials. They have an ant called Siafu in Africa whose colonies will eat whole chickens if they can't run away, and the Bullet Ant bite is supposed to feel like being shot. For my money, if terrorists really wanted to destroy the world they'd import invasive species to wherever they want to destroy. In upstate NY you have to worry more about frostbite than bug bites.
"so your saying that if he were to get bit again he could have a bad reaction the 2nd time?"
Anaphylactic shock gets worse every time, until it kills you, I think, but I don't really know what it is. That's what you get if you have a peanut allergy.
Anyways, America has got deadly snakes in it, lots of em, all waiting to get you when you step out of your car door! And lions and tigers, I think. Well, it's got cougars or something and poison ivy (I've no idea what that is). Funnily, Australia has no stinging nettles. I've heard of various Australians here in the UK playing tennis who lost their ball in some stinging nettles and merrily ran through the patch in their shorts, LOL!
Jeez, I was forgetting the alligators and gila monsters, and your mice have some weird disease too.
Last Edited by on Sep 02, 2009 12:29 AM
When I was a kid, we'd pin down another kid on an ant hill if they'd stepped out of line. I don't think we'd have done it with those ants; by the sound of them, that would be murder. ---------- 'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
@ Andrew, "a severe and rapid and sometimes fatal hypersensitivity reaction to a substance (especially a vaccine or penicillin or shellfish or insect venom ..." We don't have anything dangerous in temperate UK. :) ---------- "Blow as thou pleaseth"
Ant138, Are you kidding we seen your videos and struggle so hard not to mention the huge pinchers on your head! Really curious how you pull a glissando with them, lol.
---------- ~Ryan Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
Our daughter got hit when we were visting our son in Jacksonville when he was in the Navy there. It was some years back now but, we were out back of his place and she stood on one of the nests. Bad ending to a good trip I tell ya'. She was some sick that night.
She was in pain and itchy for 3 weeks after and then had the little red bumps for about a month total.
I feel for ya'. Sounds like you need to play some music as a diversion. ---------- "Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
Fire ants were brought into the Port Of Mobile in the late 20's. They are slowly migrating northward. The cold winters hold them back but they are slowly adapting to the cold weather. Sorry Elk River, but they will be in W VA in a decade or so.
