LFA - again

[maud gonne]

Sorry to keep bringing this up, but they seem to be EVERYWHERE these days. In Pahoa town, I look down and there they are in wide columns crossing the sidewalk. I see them on the highway. I see them everywhere. If these Little Fire Ants are so ubiquitous, I wonder why the topic is not everywhere as well. Is Puna the most infested? Are other Punawebbers encountering them as often as I seem to be?

[Kelena]

Conversations with friends provide anecdotal evidence that they are moving into areas they have not been seen before.

[Lin W]

I'm in upper HPP. I fight LFA daily. They are everywhere, kitchen, livingroom, lanai, carport, cat and dog food and water, the entire lot both on the ground and in the trees. Yesterday I found a column marching round and round in the bathtub ... why? I am chemically sensitive, don't want to use poisons if I don't absolutely have to, but I'm getting pretty sick of being bitten constantly. I understand there are biological treatments that take several months but assure complete eradication. What are they? How expensive? Is there anyone here who treats with them? I'm about ready to take a home equity loan to fight LFA and albizia, it's come to that. But, if the neighbors don't treat, and the vacant lots aren't treated, what is my chance of longterm success? If there isn't some doable solution, I'm going to have to seriously think of leaving ... don't want to, but it's down to them or me.





I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

[Obie]

If you guys see ants marching in columns,you are not seeing Lfa's.

[terracore]

I don't know if its considered marching in columns, but LFA march along perimeters, hugging the wall. If we get slack on the amdro ritual, they will form a ribbon walking around the exterior of the house, and left untreated, will do the same thing along the walls on inside of the house.

[Obie]

I think you are seeing little ants but they aren't fire ants.The Lfa's kind of stagger around.They live in trees.

We have the little ants that march in columns and I guarantee you they are not fire ants.

[terracore]

quote:

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Originally posted by Obie

I think you are seeing little ants but they aren't fire ants.The Lfa's kind of stagger around.They live in trees.

We have the little ants that march in columns and I guarantee you they are not fire ants.

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Well if the ones that we have walking around in ribbons aren't LFA, then some other kind of ants have stung me over a hundred times. Yes, LFA live in trees, but they also live in the ground, under rocks, basically they can live anywhere except under water.

An easy way to tell whether or not its LFA is to put out the liquid Terro baits and the other type of ant baits that aren't amdro or firestrike granules. If the ants die, they weren't LFA.

(There is an amdro brand ant bait that is not a granule, however it will not attract or kill the LFA). The only baits that are effective are labeled for fire ants.

[punafish]

Tiny ants along our walls too. They might not be LFAs but their bites are a pain. The numerous bites I've gotten don't fill with puss like in the pictures posted on various "fireant" sites; they just become red bumps that itch for a couple days. Amdro works but has to be applied regularly.

[Derrick Barnicoat]

There are several other types of fire ants on the island but they are not as detrimental as the LFA's. All the fire ants are little, of course, but they are larger than LFA's. I think there are about three other types of fire ants on the island, not exactly sure. The slow moving ones that fall out of trees are for sure LFA's.

[terracore]

quote:

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Originally posted by punafish

Tiny ants along our walls too. They might not be LFAs but their bites are a pain. The numerous bites I've gotten don't fill with puss like in the pictures posted on various "fireant" sites; they just become red bumps that itch for a couple days. Amdro works but has to be applied regularly.

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It seems all those pus pictures are "stock" photos of fire ant stings. LFA stings don't seem to blister in most people, and they seem to be over in about a week. When I get a sting, the first thing I do is brush/crush the area to kill the ant or any other ants. The sensation is unique to LFA, sort of a burning/itching/painful and sometimes almost like a small electric shock. That eventually turns into more of an itching sensation. Initially I get welts where the stings are, but those shrink down to a red inflamed area after a day or so. Sometimes they aren't much of a bother, sometimes the red inflamed area is twice the size of a silver dollar. Ice packs will usually shrink them down and assuage the suffering. Before the ants sting, they bite down to get a "grip" to thrust the stinger in, so each sting is also a bite, so really two separate injuries to the skin, and either they can sting more than once, or otherwise most of my stings have been from having multiple ants on me. It takes several seconds after a sting before you realize something horrible is happening. For me, the worst of it is over in about 4 days with complete recovery taking almost a week.

I'm only aware of two types of fire ants on the island, LFA and the tropical fire ant. I've never seen the latter. LFA are easy to identify because they are so small you can barely see them, but their sting feels 100x worse than what you would think their size is capable of.