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Alabama Gardening

Painful experience

16 years ago

Several days ago, I looked at the agaves I had brought in when the lows started hitting the mid 20s. Agave 'Mr. Ripple" had a lot of dirt piled up on the lower leaves and looking weird. I was mystified, but grabbed the pot to take it outside and shake the excess dirt off. It was just a few steps to the porch, but that was enough for my hands to be set on fire. Ants!!!!! No, not fire ants. I do not know what kind these were, but they were huge - about 3 times the size of fire ants, at least, and all black.

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Comments (3)

tsmith2579
16 years ago
Merry Christmas, Ken. Your description sounds like carpenter ants but I don't ever remember being bitten by one. Call Hayes Jackson over at Calhoun County Cooperative office. He may be able to help.
catbird
16 years ago
Kenneth: Hope you recovered OK. Apparently carpenter ants do bite: "Carpenter ants canÂt sting but can inflict painful bites with their powerful jaws and spray formic acid into the wound, causing a burning sensation." Don't think you want to keep those around! Hope your New Year gets off to a better start. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Carpenter ant info
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swjonthebay
16 years ago
I found out the hard way this past summer that carpenter ants do indeed bite. Unlike fire ants, which are bad enough, the carpenter ant's bite is like having a wasp sting you and not let go! Luckily, I got my ring off before the finger started to swell...stayed swollen and painful for several days.

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