Pouring boiling water on them is oh so therapeutic. Ahhhhh, satisfying. (Edit: I don’t kill normal ant species, but fire ants are a dangerous invasive non-native species that swarm and sting en masse, so they are not welcome in my garden. Ever.)
I tried to get in a quick mow of the weed yard before tonight’s thunderstorms and found fire ant mound after fire ant mound. Turning over rocks and bricks led to all sorts of surprise ants scurrying about in angry fashion. I think I boiled about 5 large pots of water, and that wasn’t enough.
Under some bricks, though, we found good guys. Like this young centipede. Yes, it’s a good guy. Eats grubs and bad pests in the soil. My friend. My friend with venom claws and poison glands. (EDIT: Apparently it’s a millipede, based on the numbers of legs per segment. Good to know! Thanks, Amanda. Eats organic matter and also a good guy.)
I had forgotten how evil those little buggers are… I used to live in Florida but we don’t have them up here in New England. We used to pour hot water on them too. It was satisfying! -Jackie
Really? Centipedes do good things? I thought I was supposed to revile them. So, revere not revile?
I think it becomes revile when a centipede actually clamps down on you and becomes NOT a friend.
I hear the fire ants are having a secret meeting about retaliation -you better watch out! I was attacked once on a camping trip -so unpleasant. So very very unpleasant.
Thanks for the reminder; I need to be out right now on fire ant patrol. This morning they had covered the cat’s food bowl. DH cleaned up the mess and set kitty’s bowl in a little container of water. You know those critters can swim?
They are so adept at surviving floods that they will form little balls, masses of fire ants all moving in a little sphere to keep air pockets inside while floating on the water. Eventually they hit land, and start a colony anew. My dog made the mistake of biting into such a ball at a flooded lake, and he suffered so much with all the bites in and around his mouth, poor thing.
I know there is supposed to be good in all things. Ants..well, ok..they break down matter. I could do without the Fire ants, though. And, mosquitos….now what is the good in them?
Hi Meredith! yes i agree, our blogs are similar, same style 🙂 Thanks for visiting! Actually i have fire ants too, but they haven’t gotten in my way so much. Are the colonies actually in your garden??
Why is the habitat steward killing ants?
It sounds terrible, I know. But I don’t kill regular ants. Fire ants are different. They are an invasive non-American species with furious stings and bites. They swarm and sting en masse, making an attack by them extremely painful. They are a hindrance to the gardener and dangerous to adults, kids, and animals. I’m a wildlife girl, but fire ants do not belong in my yard. And yep, I kill mosquitoes. They carry disease.
OK. Invasive aliens I understand. Ours are mostly plants. Like the Paterson’s Curse. the name says it all already.
I need to remember to boil water to get those bad guys! I am allergic to them and I would find that therapeutic, as well. When I saw the title of your post I was thinking to myself…there is something good about them? I had no idea. You’re right, satisfying.
Actually, that looks like a Millipede. Notice that it has two legs per segment, and most Centipedes have thicker antenna with almost the same looking antenna like legs in the back. I found two or three of them in my yard today (Millipedes). They are lovely, many people are mislead in information and fear them. But they do good. (Centipedes eat other pests, and millipedes like to eat decaying leaves and wood!) See not so bad, eh?
Ah, good to know about the leg thing. I do like centipedes and millipedes for the good they do. Centipedes and scorpions and snakes and spiders, often feared by others, all have a home in my garden.