Re: OT: Fire Ants

Ian rightly complains:
>North America seems to solve all problems by spraying.  Unless used very
>sparingly, the use of chemicals is destructive of our natural
>environment, in the long run costs us increasing amounts of money, and
>can harm our children.
>I have only seen fire ants once and was surprised by how small they
>were.  I understand however that they can have nests which extend down
>20 feet or more.  Under those circumstances, hot soapy water is unlikely
>to be effective.

This entire thread of postings only serves to confirm my opinion that we
really ought to be looking into exploiting these pests. Let's figure out
how to eat them. Why not? People eat habanero peppers, why not fire ants?
I don't care how deep those nests go, they can't possibly contain enough
ants that my Cuisinart won't make quick work of them. The number of
individuals that would be used for the average soup recipe, for instance,
would quickly deplete a colony.
I envision clever entrepreneurs developing vacuum devices such as the
machines used to extract prairie dogs from their holes. Suck up those
scuttlers and offer them as fixin's for ant soup.

Also, I note with interest all comments about native fire ants. I remember
the fire ants of southwest Texas, where I grew up. They were troublesome
little devils, but not mortal threats to anyone. The imported Argentine
fire ants take over such natives' territories easily. From what I've read,
we should not expect New Mexico's fierce natives to turn back the invaders
at the border. The imports are simply an overwhelming force.

Let's eat them.

celia
storey@aristotle.net
little Rock, Arkansas
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