DALLAS, May 15, 2008
Hairy Ants Take On Texas
Swarms Of "Crazy Rasberry Ants" Invade Houston Area Wreaking Havoc On Plants
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"Crazy rasberry ants" throw off the balance of nature as they feast on beneficial insects, researchers say, noting that even the hatchlings of an endangered chicken species are at risk from these omnivores. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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The hairy, reddish-brown creatures are known as "crazy rasberry ants" - crazy, because they wander erratically instead of marching in regimented lines, and "rasberry" after Tom Rasberry, an exterminator who did battle against them early on.
"They're itty-bitty things about the size of fleas, and they're just running everywhere," said Patsy Morphew of Pearland, who is constantly sweeping them off her patio and scooping them out of her pool by the cupful. "There's just thousands and thousands of them. If you've seen a car racing, that's how they are. They're going fast, fast, fast. They're crazy."
The ants - formally known as "paratrenicha species near pubens" - have spread to five Houston-area counties since they were first spotted in Texas in 2002.
The newly recognized species is believed to have arrived in a cargo shipment through the port of Houston. Scientists are not sure exactly where the ants came from, but their cousins, commonly called crazy ants, are found in the Southeast and the Caribbean.
"At this point, it would be nearly impossible to eradicate the ant because it is so widely dispersed," said Roger Gold, a Texas A&M University entomologist.
The good news? They eat fire ants, the stinging red terrors of Texas summers.
But the ants also like to suck the sweet juices from plants, feed on such beneficial insects as ladybugs, and eat the hatchlings of a small, endangered type of grouse known as the Attwater prairie chicken.
They also bite humans, though not with a stinger like fire ants.
Worse, they, like some other species of ants, are attracted to electrical equipment, for reasons that are not well understood by scientists.
They have ruined pumps at sewage pumping stations, fouled computers and at least one homeowner's gas meter, and caused fire alarms to malfunction. They have been spotted at NASA's Johnson Space Center and close to Hobby Airport, though they haven't caused any major problems there yet.
Exterminators say calls from frustrated homeowners and businesses are increasing because the ants - which are starting to emerge by the billions with the onset of the warm, humid season - appear to be resistant to over-the-counter ant killers.
"The population built up so high that typical ant controls simply did no good," said Jason Meyers, an A&M doctoral student who is writing his dissertation on the one-eighth-inch-long ant.
It's not enough just to kill the queen. Experts say each colony has multiple queens that have to be taken out.
At the same time, the ants aren't taking the bait usually left out in traps, according to exterminators, who want the Environmental Protection Agency to loosen restrictions on the use of more powerful pesticides.
And when you do kill these ants, the survivors turn it to their advantage: They pile up the dead, sometimes using them as a bridge to cross safely over surfaces treated with pesticide.
"It looked like someone had come along and poured coffee granules all around the perimeter of the rooms," said Lisa Calhoun, who paid exterminators $1,200 to treat an infestation of her parents' home in the Houston suburb of Pearland.
The Texas Department of Agriculture is working with A&M researchers and the EPA on how to stop the ants, which have been found in at least five counties, including Harris, Brazoria, Galveston, Montgomery and Wharton.
"This one seems to be like lava flowing and filling an entire area, getting bigger and bigger," said Ron Harrison, director of training for the big pest-control company Orkin Inc.
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Just when the Great Emperor gave a sigh of relief when he had been assured that the giant Texas sinkhole was NOT being caused by huge man-eating earthworms determined on devouring every Texan in the state, including HIM, now the Great Emperor has a fresh problem to face for which the scientists have no answer for.
Aside from watching reruns of the 1950''s classic science fiction movie, THEM!, a movie about giant man-eating ants, the Great Emperor has revived plans to move both his Crawford, Texas, ranch AND his coveted library, but this time outside the lower 48 states. He plans to move everything to Puerto Rico, which is still within the USSA (sort of) and surrounded by water.
He intends on leaving everyone else on the continent to battle the ants, including his brother and his parents!
SIG HEIL, BUSH !!!!!!
sig heil, DEFINITELY MORE OF THE SAME, McCain!!!!!
Posted by andrew_693 at 03:42 PM : May 15, 2008
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Starting with you I hope lol.. Leave the nation if you dont like it!
Posted by dragonwagon5 at 02:09 PM : May 15, 2008
...Or in the White House.
- by rf35 May 15, 2008 3:35 PM EDT
- Well, that just plain sucks! I''m sure they won''t stay in the Huston area. I''ll probably see them here in NM by the time I get home from my next tour in Iraq next summer. Invasive apecies like this don''t stay put for long.
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