Fire ants are some bad ass mo-fos. Even hurricane-turned-tropical storm Harvey couldn’t get these fearsome fellas down.
While Harvey destroyed homes, buildings, and other major infrastructure, fire ants have fared quite well.
Like the people of Texas and Louisiana, fire ants survived by banding together. They floated their way through the storm in massive piles in Houston creating yet another hazard for residents to deal with.
To overcome obstacles, fire ants will crawl on top of one another, sometimes by the thousands, in order to create structures that can look like a pile of dirt or wood.
That’s a floating mass of fire ants and it made my hair stand on end. #houston #harvey https://t.co/75inwXo7Nu pic.twitter.com/O3RUVbox0J
— Peter Bonilla (@pebonilla) August 28, 2017
According to a 2011 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), fire ants can remain buoyant in water for days or even weeks and can clump together in about 100 seconds.
The reason why this is so terrifying for Houston residents is because these nasty buggers bite.
And it is quite the bite. They are an invasive species that will attach their jaws to humans when threatened. They inject a stinging venom that burns and turns into a puss-filled sore. This can be deadly to those who are allergic to insect bites.
It looks like dirt, but it’s ACTUALLY FUCKING ANTS. GODDAMN HARVEY COULDN’T YOU AT LEAST KILL THE FUCKING FIRE ANTS? #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/3zQMTtq9f3
— Robert Junior Jr. (@RobertJuniorJr) August 28, 2017
“You might feel tickling, and then suddenly they are latching on so they can drag that stinger in,” Dr. Lawrence Gilbert, director of the Invasive Species Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, told The New York Times.
The fire ants will float until they hit something that is dry, whether it is your home, a raft, or you.
This is why they are such a post-storm hazard. The best way to protect yourself against floating fire ant colonies is with dish soap.
Pro tip: Don’t touch the floating fire ant colonies. They will ruin your day. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/uwJd0rA7qB
— Mike Hixenbaugh (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) August 27, 2017
Spraying the rafts with soapy water will disintegrate the wax coating they produce and cause them to break apart and sink rapidly, according to The Washington Post.
“As soon as ants become even slightly soapy, they immediately release their grip with each other, which is shown by the disintegration of the raft and its submergence under water,” David Hu wrote in a 2011 paper by he and his Georgia Tech colleagues.
The only problem is that you have to get somewhat close to the water and fire ants flotillas to do this.
You should avoid this at all costs and only use this method if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, just stay out of their way!
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