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Comment by DoofusOfDeath | Hacker News Reader

Texans are often regarded as having an affinity for gun ownership. I think that's silly. They clearly should all be packing flame-throwers.

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Houstonian here. Apparently all you need is some Dawn soap to break their surface tension!

I've always been fascinated by ants since childhood and love watching them, but these floating islands are the worst ambush I can imagine. Good to know they have a kryptonite.

Before readers run out and try this, there is a technique and protocol that should be followed, or you won't like the consequences. I'll let a post on /r/natureismetal do the typing for me [1], and here's a copy-pasta for those who don't want to click through (more scientific explanation [2] of why this works within seconds...to make sure around these bastards from hell, I gave 'em two minutes to display proof of death---put a stick in the drowned mass and lift it up---before I moved on to hunting down the next raft):

-------- clip here --------

You're all going to love this. It's environmentally friendly, it's inexpensive, it's 100% lethal, and makes them die in the most horrible manner possible.

Dish soap.

Put a tablespoon or two into a spray bottle, then add about 2-3 cups of water. Swish the water to mix. Do not shake! You don't want foam in the bottle.

MOVE. UP. STREAM. Seriously, you don't want to be downstream of this when it happens.

Now, starting in the middle of the mass, start spritzing with the soapy water, and work your way out to the edges.

The soap will break the surface tension, and act as a wetting agent on the ants. As a result, the water will now start wicking up their bodies, enveloping them like living quicksand. And with the surface tension broken, the mass of ants will start to sink.

Remember, start in the middle! This will cause the center to sink first, and drag the edges down last. The ants will all hold on to each other and drag every last one below the surface. With a soft bloop, the entire mass will drop.

Remember how I said to move upstream? If you're downstream, the entire submerged mass could end up wrapped around your legs. Where they will immediately begin clawing their way to the surface, using you as a ladder.

Best of all, you can scale up your operation, and load a backpack sprayer with a bottle of Dawn and a few gallons of water. Then just wade through your neighborhood, wiping them out for the benefit of everyone!

-------- clip here --------

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/natureismetal/comments/6wkd4j/firea...

[2] https://www.livescience.com/13867-raft-fire-ants-buoyancy-fl...

For someone out of the area, why would you do such a thing?

Fire ants are a foreign invasive species in the United states that kill animals, push out native ant species, cause incredibly painful stings, and trigger sometimes-fatal reactions in some people. They are nasty little balls of hate.

Just combine the ruthlessness of Terminators and Aliens, shrink to insect size and multiply by billions.

You have obviously not been bitten by a fire ant.

Their name was not inspired by their red color, but by their burning, venomous bites which leave huge weeping pustules. If you are allergic or sensitive, it is worse.

If you had ever been bitten, you would understand the desire to kill them if you can, any way you can.

(Bonus: According to the article, the floating ant rafts are 165% more venomous than usual. I cannot imagine.)

to put things in some perspective, they do suck, but are not as bad as a bee sting or wasp sting, at least in my opinion.

However, you are much more likely to get a bazillion bites, for example if you step in a nest and don't notice it until they are crawling up your leg..

My recollection is that you tend to not have just one bite. They are quite aggressive and tend to attack in groups. If you look at pics on the web of fire ant bites, they typically show many bites. Unless you are talking African Killer Bees, this is not typically true for bees.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fire+ant+bites+&qs=n&fo...

I might be crazy, but I've always been sure they coordinate their bites. You generally don't get bit until several to many ants have crawled onto you, and then you get a rapid succession of bites.

You are not crazy. They do bite essentially at the same time. Scientific explanations of the mechanism behind that perception: [1] [2].

[1] https://articles.extension.org/pages/34572/why-do-fire-ants-...

[2] http://fireant.tamu.edu/manage/faq/

You are not crazy (see other excellent comment). They are evil little beasties. I have been enjoying the descriptions here, like nasty little balls of hate and invasive species made of spite. Those are much more poetic and apt descriptions than I can come up with.

My brother was once sprayed with them by the lawnmower. He was in shorts (so his bare legs were inundated) and he reacts a lot worse to them than most people I know. I took over the lawn mowing for a few weeks after that.

If it's a matter of opinion that they're not as bad as bee or wasp stings, then it sounds like they're still pretty bad.

Fire ants have been known to kill people, especially those too young to escape an attack or those who are bedridden.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/09/990923071322.h...

Because fire ants are invasive species made of spite.

Fire ants are an invasive species which have wrecked havoc on the local ecology and cause serious human harm.

Thread: https://twitter.com/thebiologistisn/status/90254832929229209...

I hear about this solution every time these ant-balls are discussed, but I've yet to see a video despite extensive searching. I've seen countless videos of them floating, but none with them sinking.

Has anyone found a video (or else is willing to make one :)?

It makes me wonder if you couldn't use one of those "foam guns" or something similar to spread a bunch of such soap around?

Or maybe whatever system they use to lay fire-fighting foam down at airports?

Maybe just fire-fighting foam itself?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefighting_foam

Surfactants don't need much to do their work. A spray bottle with diluted soap would probably start the process of sinking the raft.

It doesn't have to be Dawn. Any liquid soap will work.

They clearly should all be packing flame-throwers.

When I was growing up in Georgia (last century), we would douse fire ant mounds in gasoline and light it. (This is no doubt illegal now.)

We called them ant roasts.

/heathen

Southern resident here - I know of no state laws in the region forbidding pouring flammable substances in/on your ground and igniting it. Still a very satisfying method of ant removal - if not the most effective for long-term removal.

Pouring petroleum products on the ground is what is generally known as a "HAZMAT SPILL" and requires EPA reporting, remediation of soils and watersheds, etc.

Even in Texas it is banned by the TCEQ, which as with most Texas regulatory agencies exists primarily to prevent any regulations from being promulgated or enforced.

Edit: Just want to add, a single gallon of diesel fuel spilled can contaminate a million gallons of drinking water in a reservoir, stream, or aquifer. It's not a great idea.

The only thing to be careful of is local fire ordinances and controlled burn reporting. It's a minor issue, probably wouldn't trip you up in most places. But I have known people who burned (small) piles of leaves without reporting and in non-drought conditions end up with fines for their trouble.

Very much varies by local rules. If you're in a county in GA you can probably get away with it without trouble.

>But I have known people who burned (small) piles of leaves without reporting and in non-drought conditions end up with fines for their trouble.

What you really mean is that you know people with neighbors who don't like them and are well connected enough to not fear reprisal.

I'm sure the EPA and local environmental departments have rules against this.

It's not really any different from a farmer clearing tress and shrubs and burning them in their field. Obviously if you live in the city you probably can't burn without a permit and/or being in a controlled container like a fire pit, but there's a lot of land between cities that doesn't have nearly as restrictive of laws.

If the EPA tried to ban controlled burns, there would be a lot of trouble in rural areas. Its a basic part of working the land.

I'm talking about dumping gasoline in the ground, not the burning part.

Well, that's how people without the fancy burn equipment start their fires.

I very much like the artistry of this fella's approach ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGJ2jMZ-gaI

There is an insect researcher who has been doing that to research nest structure. Article and photos here [1]. Some ants have very interesting architecture for their nests.

[1] http://www.core77.com/posts/23607/walter-tschinkels-aluminum...

In the late 90s, I lived in Virginia. We had some kind of ground-dwelling bees living in the neighborhood. If you were unlucky enough to step on a hole, 3 or 4 would come out and sting you.

We did the same thing with some gasoline, at night when it was cooler and the hive/colony was sleepier. My siblings and I still continued to avoid that part of the yard out of habit.

Indeed. I hate those things and conduct vicious chemical warfare against any nests that pop up in my yard.

   There is at least one possible upside: Fire ants love to eat ticks.

I guess I've learned something new today.

I actually have a friend back home in TX who owns a store that sells flamethrowers. [1] Sadly, his business is in the bulls-eye of Hurricane Harvey flooding.

[1] http://www.txmgo.com/index.php/shop/flamethrowers

Another alternative is casting a colony with molten metal

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCslpm3Swt7AWO9cJ8c-EZYA

When the floods come, it only takes a little bit of soap:

> Fire ant rafts do have a kryptonite: dish soap. “Dawn is a not a registered insecticide, but it will break up the surface tension and they will sink”

Texans are often regarded as having an affinity for gun ownership.

I have a friend who did criminal defense work as a lawyer in Houston. According to him, Houston juries will not be kind to someone they think of as a "gun nut." Texas is a big place, and there's a lot of diversity within. Houston is a splotch of purple in a sea of red, and it will get bluer as time goes on, due to demographic shifts.

Not disagreeing with him as I have no knowledge of the court system but driving around Houston the number of gun stores is insane.

You're not used to it. It's about as remarkable as a liquor store or tire and lube shop to the people who are used to it.

who says we aren't?

Who says HN hates humor?

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