I have been seeing the numbers of these ants multiply quickly this year so I watched them for a few minutes. They where crawling up the outside wall of the concrete apartment building I live in so I thought I would try something. I got my bottle of Ortho ant B gone Max and sprayed it in the hole between the bricks they were going and into, the nest holes along the side of the building they were coming out of and to my surprise there have not been any for the last 2 days not even in the larger part of the grassy area outside my door, where sometimes it looked like there was no grass at all just ants. I am still however seeing them in my apartment but one here and one there. they have not been bad inside at all just wish I could find where they are coming from and do something about it, not sure what to do with pets around so getting the pest control in is the last resort. But I suggest if you are having problems with the little black carpenter ants and have pets I have only seen one or two of there guys after putting cinnamon in the tracks of the windows and spraying vinegar around the outside door (refreshing once a week)which may be a safe way out doors where your pets hang out. Good luck this year everyone with the ever growing population of our unwanted little friends

Try planting basil. Normal, classic basil. The aromas of basil keep ants away in the house. Why shouldn't it work outside? I would recommend planting mints, though, like spearmint and peppermint. If you have ants in your plants, you probably have or will get aphids, too. To rid the plants of aphids, try planting nasturtium. The nasturtium will distract the aphids away from the rest of your plants.

I was just out in the garage and I saw a couple of these tiny red spider-like bugs on the workbench that kind of zipped around in circles upon being disturbed--looked kind of cute, and I paid them no mind. A few minutes ago I came back in the house and was looking at a sheet of paper and felt something biting or stinging my bicep just above my elbow. I looked carefuly and saw one of these little red bugs right at the point it was beginning to feel like a sting. I swabbed it off with a moist sponge. Anyway I went online and came to this site. It was not a chigger. Make no mistake it was either biting or stinging me and gave quite an irritating stinging sensation not unlike a fire ant or mild bee sting. I rubbed some baking soda/water mixture on it and it is pretty much subsided after 20 minutes. I assure you I am now a little paranoid about these, whatever they are, and no longer see them as cute little harmless creatures. My first inclination was to think they were "red spider mites" but I don't really know. Any ideas?

After having been bit by a fire ant on my foot, I cleaned it and alternated between applying hydro-cortisone and topical antibiotic. It still itched constantly and I was very careful to not pop the blister because all these sites say that. But the next week the itching continued and started to spread and the bite had healed over. When my hands started itching, too, I made a doctor's appt. My doctor said that the topical antibiotic pushed the venom into my blood stream and spread it throughout my body. He prescribed me taking benedryl orally for the next five days to get rid of it. After that I have had to pop the blisters and clean them before putting on the antibiotic. They stay red and look infected for a few days, but that's really the inflammation from the venom that went into the surrounding tissue. I also have a theory that once you've been bitten during the season, you are marked as the enemy. They seem to hunt you down for revenge, I found this online because I managed to get bit while moving brush to mow the lawn and for the rest of the afternoon every time I stepped off the mower they seemed to be finding me. I have more then twenty bites and they (~20) are bothering me more 48 hours after the initial biting. The itching has started full force and I was trying to avoid the benedryl capsules because I get sleepy and wanted to try some home remedies. I have already done the washing, spa treatment, hydrogen peroxide, peppermint oil immediately, and hydro cortisone. It worked well for the last two days, I guess the initial effects wore off and the blisters are all up this morning, too.