One mild October day, I decided to have lunch on our covered back porch. Carrying my tray with peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich and tomato soup to the round patio table, I sat and began eating.
Happily munching, enjoying the peaceful scenery, I watched our cat Pewter at play. When Pewter paraded near the table, I looked down. There underfoot I saw ants.
Our concrete patio was poured in four rectangular sections. Because the patio lies under roof, we bought an inexpensive outdoor rug to adorn a central area where two lounging chairs sit.
Watching the ants, I realized they had made a highway of the center crack running the length of the concrete. I moved my feet away from the crack, leaned over and lifted the edge of the rug. Underneath, hordes of little intruders trekked along the hidden part of the crack.
I had swept the patio two days earlier and had seen no sign of ants. Further, we had contracted with a pest management company to keep the house and its immediate vicinity bug-free. A company rep had recently given the place a thorough treatment. He’d told us to call if we saw any insect-type pests.
The next morning, I called. That evening, another company rep knocked on our door. I took him around to the patio. “Hmm,” he said, as I pulled back the rug and showed him the critters scurrying along the patio’s center line.
Leaning and peering, then straightening up, he said, “I think they’re fire ants.”
Surely not! I thought. How is that possible? I wondered. I’m glad I moved my feet, I decided. “Fire ants?” I said.
The last time we lived in Mississippi – in the northeast section – we battled fire ants. We knew their reputation – aggressive behavior, painful sting.
Imported by accident from South America to Mobile, Alabama, in the early 1930s, they soon took up residence across the 12 southeastern states. In South America they had natural enemies. In the US, they do not.
Previously, fire ants signaled their presence in our yard by building large mounds. If someone dared to kick a mound or bump it with a stick, myriads of ants would suddenly swarm out. Eager to get rid of the venomous creatures, we followed the recommended procedures. Yet each time we thought the problem solved, we found a new mound.
Moving away from Mississippi 14 years ago, I bid a glad farewell to fire ants. Now, 10 months after our return, they’d come out to welcome us home. Yet, how? We had worked in our yard throughout the summer and into the fall. We hadn’t seen one fire ant hill.
The pest management man sprayed the crack in the patio. Then, he inspected the yard. He returned to report, “That mulch you have around your three new trees? You have fire ant beds in two of the three.”
He added, “The ants probably tunneled from their hills to the crack in the concrete under your rug when the night temps dropped below 50 degrees. The rug holds in warmth.”
Ah, ha! Sneaky fire ants! Hiding in our tree mulch and snuggling under our rug!
Jesus never dealt with fire ants. But he did deal with venomous people who hid behind religious masks. He told them, “You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed.”
I’m happy to report: Crafty fire ants exposed! Natural enemies or not, they do have an enemy here, with tenacity and new strategies to get these usurpers off our land.
Happily munching, enjoying the peaceful scenery, I watched our cat Pewter at play. When Pewter paraded near the table, I looked down. There underfoot I saw ants.
Our concrete patio was poured in four rectangular sections. Because the patio lies under roof, we bought an inexpensive outdoor rug to adorn a central area where two lounging chairs sit.
Watching the ants, I realized they had made a highway of the center crack running the length of the concrete. I moved my feet away from the crack, leaned over and lifted the edge of the rug. Underneath, hordes of little intruders trekked along the hidden part of the crack.
I had swept the patio two days earlier and had seen no sign of ants. Further, we had contracted with a pest management company to keep the house and its immediate vicinity bug-free. A company rep had recently given the place a thorough treatment. He’d told us to call if we saw any insect-type pests.
The next morning, I called. That evening, another company rep knocked on our door. I took him around to the patio. “Hmm,” he said, as I pulled back the rug and showed him the critters scurrying along the patio’s center line.
Leaning and peering, then straightening up, he said, “I think they’re fire ants.”
Surely not! I thought. How is that possible? I wondered. I’m glad I moved my feet, I decided. “Fire ants?” I said.
The last time we lived in Mississippi – in the northeast section – we battled fire ants. We knew their reputation – aggressive behavior, painful sting.
Imported by accident from South America to Mobile, Alabama, in the early 1930s, they soon took up residence across the 12 southeastern states. In South America they had natural enemies. In the US, they do not.
Previously, fire ants signaled their presence in our yard by building large mounds. If someone dared to kick a mound or bump it with a stick, myriads of ants would suddenly swarm out. Eager to get rid of the venomous creatures, we followed the recommended procedures. Yet each time we thought the problem solved, we found a new mound.
Moving away from Mississippi 14 years ago, I bid a glad farewell to fire ants. Now, 10 months after our return, they’d come out to welcome us home. Yet, how? We had worked in our yard throughout the summer and into the fall. We hadn’t seen one fire ant hill.
The pest management man sprayed the crack in the patio. Then, he inspected the yard. He returned to report, “That mulch you have around your three new trees? You have fire ant beds in two of the three.”
He added, “The ants probably tunneled from their hills to the crack in the concrete under your rug when the night temps dropped below 50 degrees. The rug holds in warmth.”
Ah, ha! Sneaky fire ants! Hiding in our tree mulch and snuggling under our rug!
Jesus never dealt with fire ants. But he did deal with venomous people who hid behind religious masks. He told them, “You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed.”
I’m happy to report: Crafty fire ants exposed! Natural enemies or not, they do have an enemy here, with tenacity and new strategies to get these usurpers off our land.
© 2008, Deborah P. Brunt. All rights reserved.
Luke 12:2 from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.
More info about fire ants at www.fireant.net and www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/ant0999.htm.
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