Two days ago I made the stupid mistake of sitting on the swing in our lakehouse backyard while barefoot. I spent approximately three minutes without shoes. In that time I felt two teensy, tiny pinches on my feet - one on a right foot toe and one on the top of my left foot.
Within five minutes they stung like nobody's business, so I went inside and grabbed one of those little vials, where you crush them and green stuff oozes out. I smeared my feet up with that green stuff, feeling very smug that I'd jumped right on the problem and that was that.
The next morning I woke up to my feet feeling like they were on F.I.R.E. Because they were. Fire ants fire. A nice little blister on top of each spot where I'd been bitten, and big red lumps under the blisters. Which I promptly popped open with all the scratchin I was doing under the covers in my sleep.
A day later I still have big red lumps, and little blisters continue to reform every day. Which I continue to scratch til they pop and bleed and ooze and are completely lovely.
So much for smugness and green oozy goo. So much for going barefoot around here, ever again.
Welcome to Texas Bev. Being a native doesn't count for much when you've been gone for 40 years. After I moved out the fire ants moved in and they're here to stay.
Wonder if anyone around here ever lays a blanket down on the grass, for an evening under the moonlight? Bet they don't twice.
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14 comments:
Ah, yes. Been there ... done that. I am so sorry you had to be welcomed by one of the south's least favorite natives.
Just a thought ... we use a paste of vinegar and baking soda. Smear it on there and it pulls the poison out. You have to be somewhere that you can sit for about 20 minutes and let it do its thing. And have a towel ready because when you want to get up it will fall off all over the floor.
Good luck!
My husband is always carrying on about the bugs in Texas. I normally just laugh. Here in the midwest we kill bugs off with our subzero winter weather. I'm thinking maybe that's the advantage we have over the warm climates. My kids go crazy over any kind of bug.
Sorry to hear about the "moving" chaos. Yuck. Praying that you'll have some great time with a good book...
ah, yes, the dreaded fire ants. We were introduced the first day we lived here in Louisiana, when my then 7 yo dd stood on an ant hill. ugh.
I don't like to use bug killing stuff on my yard - except for fire ant stuff. any hills are promptly worked on.
and I've found that using white toothpaste right away keeps the sting away later. I read it somewhere and was amazed when it really worked!
White toothpaste, vinegar and baking soda? I'm all over remedies, and I've already told Don I dont care what it costs - we're treating the entire yard twice the first summer we live here. I cant imagine little grandkids getting eaten alive by these miserable creatures.
it makes you feel better, 80% of your grandchildren are Texas natives, so it wouldn't be the first time they'd have been bitten! We can't treat out whole property, so we do the second best option: wear rubber boots. I'm sure Grayson will think his cow boots with swim trunks will look awsome!!
Ah yes - those nasty little buggers. We have all been on the unpleasant side of their stings. We begin training the little ones as soon as they start to toddle around - watch out for the fire ants!
Paging God: Miss Bev needs a break. :) xxxooo Or perhaps a glass of wine would do.
Bet they don't twice. LOL And Sarah and Gretchen both made me smile, with their comments. I'm totally picturing the kids in rubber boots and swimsuits and Gretchen's right - you're just about due a break. Good grief.
Thank goodness it was only two bites. Fire ants are horrible. If you've ever been bitten even once, you never forget it.
Fire Ants - gotta HATE them!! My little guy is severely allergic to them so I try to watch very closely for those bad boys! My older son got bit pretty badly with them last night and he's an itchy mess today!! Hope you get rid of those little buggers soon. Andros FireAnt killer is supposed to work well, but I can't say for sure if that is true. I seem to find them still...even after depositing a ton of that stuff! But they aren't in my yard anymore, so that's a good thing!!
Bleach on a qtip on the bite works also. We don't use the word hate lightly in my family, but we HATE fire ants. Praying that your move becomes a little less complicated soon.
Owwww! We don't have them here but your description was enough for me!
Have mercy! I always associate Texas with scorpions, but these ants sound wicked! Ugh! The good news is that since you are there alone, if you decide to stomp around the yard in old rubber boots with your shorts, noone will be witness to tease you:-)
Hugs! Praying for you!
You know, I developed a severe allergy to stinging insects (bees, wasps, and the like) about two years ago, after never having been bothered by them.
As a native Floridian, I should know better, too, but I just love sitting out on our porch in the evenings. I haven't found anything to soothe the sting, but do keep an Epi-pen on hand, just in case!
oh, I would die. I love being in bare feet. That sounds grewsome. I hope your feet get better.
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