Although it may sound morbid, there are a handful of ways to die that repeatedly come to mind. Drowning and car accidents are two of the more popular scenarios. Falling or catching on fire are also among the more common forms of death that stick in people’s minds. But there are other ways in which to die that are brushed over, or even worse, nearly non perceivable. Unfortunately, they’re becoming a reality.
‘Death by ants’ is not something we hear everyday, but it’s time to be aware. A “crazy ants” invasion is spreading rapidly across the U.S. Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida, and no matter how many cans of pesticide you unload on the approaching armies, they just keep coming.
Joe Stuckey sprays an abundance of chemicals on the swarms of tiny ants every few days on his 40-acre property south of Houston with minor success. He waits for them to die, shovels them away, and then repeats the process as new ants begin to swoop in immediately. Controlling these ants can cost thousands of dollars and the potential damage they can cause is severe.
“It’s literally a huge problem,” said Stuckey, a Houston environmental attorney.
The ants forage and scramble at the speed of your average picnic ant and are called hairy because of their fuzz that makes them look less glossy than their slower, bigger cousins, Fox News reports. They invade homes, cars, entire suburban and rural areas, they fill your shoes, they attack beehives and can even short out industrial equipment (when one is electrocuted, it sends a chemical signal to its peers that lures them to the place of death, forming a giant ball of tiny ants). They’re no joke.
Originally from South Africa, the ants first popped up in Texas in 2002. They don’t sting or bite like fire ants, but they do multiply very quickly and like to live in warm, tight spaces. For example in car engines, floorboards and electrical equipment.
One homeowner south of Houston, Diana Tahtinen, has spent nearly $1,000 a year for pest control during the last three years to fend off the ants. “It has a huge impact on your quality of life,” she said.
But as the fight continues, they keep multiplying, and Stuckey fears that things are only going to get worse. "You can spray and it will kill tens of thousands, but they come back," he said. "If you took a restaurant-sized pepper jug and poured it on the floor, that's how thick they are. This year's been the worst ever."
The ant invasion has begun.