fireants

[Joyfulsnuff]

About 10 years ago when we were at CBR my then 1 year old son was bitten all over by fireants. We were walking along the path at the resort and he was walking along with us but in the grass, he stopped for a moment and then started to scream. We ran over to him and saw the ants swarming up his legs, we had to rip off his clothes and diaper right there to get them of him. Poor thing stood right on the little ant mound and had welts that looked like bee stings all over him. Scared me to death, we are not used to the threat of fireants and never thought anything of it when he was playing in the grass. We have been there a lot since then and my kids are always on the lookout for them. Keep it in mind if your kids play in the grass while you are there especially if they are little and cant watch out for the ants themselves. It was a scary lesson.

[Debi]

Yikes, that does sound scary! Although WDW Pest Control does do a great job, they can't block all insects/animals, so be very careful, especially when in grassy areas.

[SC Minnie]

Since we have to the 'good fortune' to have fire ants in our live daily the best way to stay away from them is to keep an eye out for the mounds they make. Most of the time they are small but they can get huge. We have not found anything that will actually kill them- most of the products approved by the EPA will not kill them they just move.

Please make sure your family is aware of fire ants. The bites sting all the way down to the bone. It is extremely painful. Some people are allegic to the bites so keep that in mind if a member of your family gets bitten and has a bad reaction.

[LKS]

When my daughter knelt in a fire ant mound on Easter to reach some hidden eggs, my father suggested that we wipe her legs down with vinegar then put a bit of hydrocortisone cream on each of the 50-60 bites. It still looked pretty bad, but I do think it helped. I have not met anyone who does not react to these bites. The are called fire ants for a reason.

[nwdisgal]

Thanks for the heads up! It is especially helpful for those of us from a place where these little "bug-gers" aren't part of the natural landscape. Ditto for the noseeums, which I'd never heard of before my last trip. My grandmother who was a great gardener used to stick her hands in shrubbery (without personal damage or bite) at home all the time in the Pacific Northwest. She went to Florida and my aunt (a Florida native) caught her in the nick of time and said, "Don't ever stick your bare hand into a shrub in Florida."

[CindyLouB]

What are noseeums??????

[nwdisgal]

Go to the Resorts board and do a search on noseeums. Lots of information there. They are a type of biting crane fly that are invisible to the naked eye. Some people are bugged by them, some are not. Just another pest.

[phoebusII]

When we were at MK last Nov. I noticed a lot of red bumps on the back of 2 yr old sons thigh. I didn't know if they were insect bites or a rash but we ended up taking him to a clinic where the Dr. said he didn't know what it was either but gave us a steroid cream to rub on. (I wasn't that impressed with the Dr. but the cream seemed to help). From the desription they were probably fireant bites. He only sat in the stroller or on the rides so I have no clue where in the park he was bitten. He never cried or complained.

[VickiVM]

We have a big problem with them here in Texas as well. My kids won't even go play in our backyard until they "ask daddy if there are any anthills". They quickly learn!!

FYI, they seem to really come out after a rain.

[Buz]

About 10 years ago, my DS asked me to get the ball out of the tree. I got the ball and found out why he couldn't reach it, there was a mound underneath. I got bit over 100 times on my foot. I couldn't wear a shoe for 3 days, lots of Benadryl. I always look where I walk now. ;)


Harold

[DisTwix]

No-Seeeummsss!!!!

YIKES -

I was just at Disney May 6-9 and was eaten alive while watching Illuminations.

I am not normally bothered much by bugs, and didn't even think of bug spray, but OH BOY - I had about 25 bites on my legs and feet that are still healing, and I did the cortizone cream and the whole bit!

So - take that bug spray and use it!

[DNSDisney]

To relieve the pain, welt, etc of a fireant use Benadryl tablet, or liquid for children. It works within 30 mins and totally goes away after a couple of doses.
I have lived with these little critters all my life in Ga and it works like a charm.
Hope this helps someone.
Sharon

[Feralpeg]

For those of you familiar with fire ants, we are planning on moving to Florida soon. We have a couple of dogs. Do ants attack dogs as well? If so, I'm not sure how we will keep them away from them.

[KJMAX1]

We too live in the Pacific Northwest, and I am eaten up like you would not believe here in the summer. But I must say, when in WDW we NEVER got bit. I wonder if it is the time of year as well, along with all the spraying they do? I never saw a bee either!

[LKS]

Our dogs have never been bothered by any of the bugs that bother us. No fire-ant bites, the sand-gnats (no see ums) probably can't get through the fur and even the deer flies and horse flies don't seem to bother them. Lucky dogs!

[nwdisgal]

Kjmax1 - Here's the rule for us NWesters, whatever happens at home, the opposite will happen at WDW ;) The Seattle mosquitoes detest me, the Orlando noseeums however....

And I'll be sure to stay away from anything resembling any sort of dirt mound in Florida.

[cgajdzisz]

Thanks so much for posting. I was not aware of fire ants. Now that I know I will look out for them. We already spent time on one vacation in the emergency room with my then DD4! I really would like to avoid any other mishaps if possible.:rolleyes:

[LKS]

Be warned too that they are not always in a visible mound. Darn it, just today I stepped in one buried in our grass while moving the sprinkler and I have about 10 bites on both feet. I have lived with them my whole life and still can't avoid them.

[DisTwix]

LKS - I was just coming on to post the same thing!!!

I was just outside, digging a spot for a new flower bed, and encountered a whole LOT of fireants - again - no visible mount. I guess they are just unavoidable. My legs will be polka-dotted for the rest of the summer...!!!!

Then of course - I'll head to Disney in the fall and get eaten back up.... it never ends. :P

[LKS]

Dis Twix, we used to live in Cary and we had more trouble with bees in our mulch there. I guess we were just lucky to have a "low-ant" yard.

[DisTwix]

LKS -

I dunno which I'd rather take - the bees or the ants... Hmmmm... At least the bees make a noise and announce their presence!

The last time I washed my truck was bad - running all that water into the ground brought all the ants up and onto my legs. And of course, you don't know your legs are covered until they all bite at one time when the lead ant yells "FIRE!"

So - at Disney - one might also avoid freshly sprinklered areas. Basically - don't veer much off the path without being aware of the consequences. Eeeeek!

[nascarfan]

Yep, I got in the Fire Ants this past Saturday while fishing with my son. I know better, but wasn't paying attention. I'm lucky I don't get the whelts (sp) like some folks do, but the bites hang around for a week or so. Nasty little buggers.

[Muushka]

There is a topical OTC med available at most drug stores and Walmart type places called Rhuli Gel. It is now made by the Band-aid people and is called an anti-itch gel.

The stuff is wonderful. If you put it on immediatly after a fireant bite (or mosquito, or whatever ), it causes the reaction to diminish and you don't get that month long pimply thing, it only lasts a day or two instead. It also works on poison ivy and oak and the rashy type things. It also works great on sea lice.

We keep ours in the refrigerator and it helps to sooth the rash/bite also.

[VickiVM]

I've used the Rhuli gel and it does work. We also keep a large bottle of Aloe gel. It is great on so many kinds of skin irritations - bites, rashes, burns, etc. My MIL has the plant and breaks off a piece when my kids get a boo-boo. They carry that piece in a plastic ziplock and squeeze a little liquid out on their boo-boo and they're happy campers. I tend to get rashes and use the gel to minimize the duration and flare-ups. This thread has reminded me to make sure I take a bottle of Aloe gel with us in the fall.

[perdidobay]

My dd got bit by fire ants while leaning on the wall outside of the Mexico pavilion in Epcot this past March. So be careful, they aren't always on the ground. Antihistamine works well with the itch and pain. I've been bit at home by fire ants before and had allergic reaction to them so I always go outdoors with my epipen now. One reason why they hurt so much is they all bite you at the same time!