Ants are small-sized insects that often sting. These insects usually live in a colony with one or more breeding queens. It has no wings except for the fertile adults which form large mating swarms. Ants can spoil picnics or become unwelcome visitors inside our home but they can be beneficial in the backyard since they help create healthy soil. Ants dig tunnels and aerate the dirt as well as bring nutrients to the surface and allowing water to circulate through the soil. Additionally, they also increase the dispersal, survival and germination rate of seeds.
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEswdFpthcI” width=”220″]Ants prey on the eggs and larvae of flies, fleas, silverfish, bedbugs and even cockroaches. Ants and other insects help keep the entire ecosystem in balance which is important to all plants, fungi, and animals including humans that share the environment. Ants are creative and wonderful creatures until it delivers a bite. Although ants are small, they can deliver a potent bite and this depends on the type of ant. Millions of people are bitten by ants every year. Ant bites may cause minimal swelling, redness and an itchy feeling around the bitten area. In some cases, anaphylactic shock can occur in which the entire body of the individual overreacts to the ant bite, resulting to the swelling in mouth, throat, trachea, and lungs. It can even cause death if not treated right away.
Steps in treating ant bites
When treating ant bites, you need baking soda and Benadryl.
- Wash the bite site with warm water and soap. Dry the bite site with a towel.
- Mix baking soda and water to form a paste and apply it directly to the bite. This homemade treatment helps in minimizing itching and swelling
- If the individual does not experience an adverse reaction to Benadryl, provide Benadryl if there is an allergic reaction.
- Instruct the individual to avoid scratching or picking on the bite site. Do not open a pustule that will form.
- Seek emergency care if the bite is infected such a foul door, pus draining out of the wound, fever and swelling.
Simple ant control remedies
- Cinnamon sticks and garlic cloves – place in areas where the ants usually enter such as window tracks, by the doors and corners around the house. It can also be placed in the pantry.
- Vinegar – put white vinegar or apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and spray in places where ants frequent.
- Black pepper – sprinkle black pepper where ants usually gather.
- Boiling water – pour boiling water over the anthills or areas where ants tend to gather.
- Mint – it works by destroying the smelling capability of ants and preventing them from entering the house. Plant mint around your house, especially near the doors and areas where ants can enter. Place mint leaves in and around the windows and also in the pantry.