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Please forgive me if this sounds crude, but has anyone tried urinating on a fire ant bite/sting to see if that takes away the pain [i.e. Chandler from "Friends" when he peed on the jelly-fish sting]? I was wondering if the ph of the urine would remove the sting. Seriously! [And, yes, I know the TV show was "pretend."]
Great question, and yes I've heard this really works. While we were in Belize a couple of years ago, my husband and I met a woman at our hotel who'd been out on a scuba excursion and she stepped on and was stung by a scorpion fish - very painful and poisonous. They were miles from anywhere and couldn't get her to a doctor immediately. She said the pain was excruciating. Someone recommended this "treatment" and while everyone was hesitant to offer their "sample" one guy eventually came through...and she said the pain went away instantly. The ammonia in urine is what neutralizes the pain. Not sure about the itch, though. Fire ant bites also itch intensely!!
You wrote: I wonder what would happen if we peed on the ANTS! : ) Actually, nothing. The pi.. is non toxic. I have tried this (when no one was looking).
Those ants nest up against my fruit tree trunks, so i reasoned the natural fertilizer would benefit the trees and possibly discourage the ants. No such luck. But gotta keep trying to find solutions, you know.
Today i concocted an experimental ant bait:
One cup corn meal, four Tbs. cooking oil, and one Tbs. Boric acid powder. Mix the acid and oil together then add to the corn meal till all the lumps are out.
I will keep a watch on those treated ant beds to see how long it takes to destroy a mound.
Boric acid is cheap at the $Store. The brand is "GOOD BYE ROACHES" and sells for $2 a quart. Comes in a squeeze bottle for dusting.
Have you tried using grits to get rid of fire ants? I've had success with this method. Sprinkle dry instant grits on the mound, and just leave it for a few days. Apparently the ants ingest the grits and, as the grits expand, the ants die. This has really worked for me!
I can now verify that my "Cooper's Fire Ant Terminator" formula as described above does work. Three days later the dozen ant beds were ghost towns. Two other large mounds needed a second dose but did disappear.
When i make the cup of stuff it fills an ice cube tray. I mash them hard into the cube spaces, add a bit of water on top and freeze them. I then place a frozen cube on a mound, a convenient way to dispense justice. The rest can be saved in a zip-loc bag in the freezer for use later. Don't eat them for snacks!
