Ant Bites!!

You know those pesky little black ants that sometimes show up at your picnics in Utah?  Not very often, but sometimes? If they crawl into your food, they are annoying. If they crawl up your leg, they are slightly annoying, but if one or two stays on your leg for a few moments, no problem. You will simply brush them off when they are noticed. No harm, no foul.

Sometimes you get a trail of smaller ants that come into your house and get into the sugar, or something else sweet. We call those "sugar ants". They are pesky, and none of us wants to have to deal with them. But, you have to admit, they have a cute little name.

Occasionally, we run into the black ant's slightly nastier cousin, the "red ant". It's a bit peskier, because they will bite you, I've been told. But, tell me. . . have you ever actually been bitten by a red ant? I didn't think so. It's kind of a "live and let live" situation.

Let me tell you about the Texas cousin of the black ant. It is the "fire ant". You probably think the fire ant is red and easily recognized. No, it's not red. . . it's black. It looks just like the Utah version. If you're from Utah, visiting in Texas, and nobody saw fit to tell ya'all that you'd best avoid an ant pile at all costs, be prepared for a rude initiation. They live in ant piles that are all over the place. Yes, ALL OVER THE PLACE! I stepped in an ant pile last summer when I was visiting here. Someone that was with me (Dale) said, "You've got ants on your feet." I said "oh", and calmly stomped them off my feet. Didn't think anything more about the ant incident, until later that evening when red welts started to appear on my feet and ankles. They were ugly, but they didn't itch or anything, which I thought was odd. Dale said, "We'd better get something to put on those bites. They will start to bother you tomorrow.". THAT was an understatement. They started to bother me the next day and proceeded to keep on bothering me for about a week.

Okay, so, recently, I started having welts showing up mysteriously on my feet, toes, stomach. You see, it's mysterious because you never actually feel the little nasties biting you. No, you don't even feel them on you. I couldn't figure out where I was getting bitten from. Eventually I realized that each day I was waking up with a few more welts. No, I am not a rocket scientist, so it took me a day or two, but finally figured out that they might be in the bed. I tore the bed apart, washed everything. Found two nasty little ants crawling around on the comforter. Ha!! found you! I shook them off outside. Sprayed the comforter, the mattress, all around the bed, the pillows, anything else I could think of. Hoped the fumes and poison wouldn't kill me and Dale in the night. Now, no more bites. But, yes, the exterminator is scheduled for Tuesday!

See posted picture of bite on my toe. I would show you the others, but I didn't want to show you my belly. And no making fun of my toes!