And then there are fire ants...

So I've been sitting around freaking out about black widows (which have been spotted in and around my house), and mice (I'm pretty sure I've seen droppings in my garage), and cockroaches (my friend assures me they will come because I live in the South now). But fire ants didn't seem like such a big (no pun intended) deal.

But then I saw them in action. A little girl was attacked at the bus stop the other day. She was playing in some landscaping, and then screaming. I didn't actually see it happen, but the other parents who were there said her little hands were completely covered in ants. Nasty biting ants.

So, one more thing to worry about. The kids want to run and play in the yard, and who needs shoes? Its summer!

Everyone needs shoes! Not like they'll provide tons of defense, but still...

This incident at the bus stop happened the day after I had my house sprayed. I mentioned to the bug guy that I'd seen ants in my closet (along the perimeter wall on the ground floor) and he assured me that they would get sick and die. Then, while reading about fire ants, I learned that its harder for them to take over your yard if there are other types of ants, so you shouldn't kill the others. Oops. Too late.

When it comes to ants, you just can't win.