# Can Fire Ant Bites Kill You **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 28, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830 "2005-09-28T12:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cynical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5fc32e/32.png) [@Cynical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cynical1)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/1 "2005-09-28T12:18:31Z")
[Fire Ant Bites](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireant.html) aren’t what gets you, it’s the sting. They bite just to get leverage so they can sting you with their tails. Then they let go, pivot a bit, bite the same spot, and sting again. I have watched one make a complete circle then drop off as if it knew it was done. What’s a little pain compared to the thrill of knowledge…? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/2 "2005-09-28T12:35:30Z")
So how does the body eliminate the fire ant venom? I assume that the active ingrediant is formic acid. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/3 "2005-09-28T12:36:31Z")
So how does the body eliminate the fire ant venom? I assume that the active ingredient is formic acid. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/4 "2005-09-28T12:52:22Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > So how does the body eliminate the fire ant venom? I assume that the active ingredient is formic acid. [No](http://www.safe2use.com/pests/fireants/fireants4.htm) > [@](#): > > The fire ant’s attack is a two-part process consisting of a bite and a sting. When one ant stings, they all sting and inject a venom that causes the release of histamine, a chemical in our bodies that can produce pain, itching, swelling and redness of the skin. Within seconds after the stings, discomfort occurs at each site and a small red welt appears. Each welt can enlarge rapidly, depending on the amount of venom that was injected and the victim’s sensitivity to the venom. The reaction persists for up to an hour, and then a small, clear blister will form. Over the next half day or so, the fluid in the blister may turn cloudy, and the area will begin to itch. Most people experience only a small amount of redness around the sting site. A small percentage of people are sensitive to the venom and experience more extensive redness and swelling. A few victims have extensive allergic reactions such as breathing difficulties or widespread swelling of body parts or worse. > > The fire ant’s venom is an oily alkaloid mixed with a little protein, and your one chance to lessen the effect of the bite is to quickly break down the protein. Try dabbing the bite with diluted bleach or or Safe Solutions, Inc. Enzyme Cleaners, or covering it with a paste of meat tenderizer and water. This method is not effective if more than 15 minutes have passed. Another option is to treat stings with an insect bite remedy containing benzocaine or other ingredients that deaden pain and protect against infection. [SDSTAFF Douglas says](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireants.html) > [@](#): > > A single fire ant can sting repeatedly and will continue to do so even after it’s out of venom; it clamps its jaws down and rotates in place, stinging as it pivots. The venom is complex, initiating histamine reactions and other adverse effects. About 95% of fire ant venom is non-protein and contains dialkylpiperidine hemolytic factors (not acid). These hemolytic factors induce the release of histamine and other vasoactive amines from mast cells. If a red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) stings you, a sterile pustule appears at the sting site within 24-48 hours–no pustule forms from the stings of native species. The alkaloids aren’t immunogenic (capable of inducing an immune response); their sheer toxicity to the skin is believed to cause the pustules to form. In other words, no one is immune to this effect. The pustules can easily become infected if not kept clean. > > The venom also contains several allergenic proteins that can mean trouble for sensitive individuals. A minority of those stung are hyperallergic to the venom and can react quite strongly, with chest pains, nausea, dizziness, shock or even coma. A few deaths have been documented but these cases are rare. In short, much of the reaction to the sting is unavoidable, although allergic individuals will have more severe side effects. ---
**Author:** ![Outpits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4bbf92/32.png) [@Outpits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Outpits)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/5 "2005-09-28T14:22:56Z")
It seems to me there were two columns posted in response to the fire ant question, both, I believe, by SDSTAFF Doug (and both very good). The first was on the composition of the venom, debunking the formic acid theory. The second dealt primarily with anaphylaxis. The second is the only one currently posted, although Astro quoted extensively from the former. Where did it go? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/6 "2005-09-28T15:22:49Z")
**Outpits** - Thank you! I thought I was going mad. What happened here? Ed’s not trying to Gaslight us, is he? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/7 "2005-09-29T01:26:03Z")
Outpits: where did what go? There are two columns on fire ants: one dated 21 October 2003, Do fire ants bite everything in their path? [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireants.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireants.html) one dated 27 September 2005, Can fire ant bites kill you? [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireant.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireant.html) What’s the confusion? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/8 "2005-09-29T12:03:34Z")
> [@Arnold Winkelried](#): > > Outpits: where did what go? > There are two columns on fire ants: > one dated 21 October 2003, Do fire ants bite everything in their path? > [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireants.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireants.html) > one dated 27 September 2005, Can fire ant bites kill you? > [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireant.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireant.html) > > What’s the confusion? Are you funning with us? I would swear that the [“Do fire ants bite everything in their path?”](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfireants.html) article was posted briefly on Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/9 "2005-09-29T12:57:36Z")
_“Within seconds after the stings, discomfort occurs …”_ Thank you, Mr. Euphemism, but let’s see you get stung by 20 or so of the little suckers at once and talk to us about “discomfort”. “Discomfort” is when your underwear doesn’t fit right. _Pain_ is what fire ants inflict. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/10 "2005-09-29T13:36:53Z")
No, Maus Magill, I wasn’t funning with you. I didn’t notice what you said, that the wrong article (the one from 21 October 2003) was posted on Tuesday. But it’s very possible - notice how the two URLs are very similar? It was probably a typographical error that was swiftly corrected. ---
**Author:** ![suprmommie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@suprmommie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suprmommie)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fire-ant-bites-kill-you/323830/11 "2005-10-04T06:12:11Z")
I got bit by about 10 fire ants and less than 24 hrs later, I had a knot on my groin area (I’m a woman so I thought this was an ingrown hair). I went to the Dr. that afternoon. He too thought it was an ingrown hair and told me to go home, put a heat on it and it should resolve itself. I went home, put a heating pad on it, fell asleep. When I woke up, the tiny knot was now the size of a softball and I was running a high fever. I went to the ER and when the doc asked what was wrong I told him I had a bad ingrown hair. He kinda rolled his eyes and was probally thinking, “Why the hell is she coming to the ER for an ingrown hair?”. When he lifted the sheet and took a look he gasped and said “We need to call surgery right now”. Turns out, the venom from the fire ants set in my lymph node and caused an infection. They had to take out all the dead tissue and left me with a four inch long, four inch deep open wound. They couldn’t stich up the wound because of the infection so it was this gaping hole. I could literally stick my fist inside it. I had to have it packed everyday for about 3 months until it healed itself. If I would have waited another 24 hrs the Dr. said it would have spread to my other lymph nodes and I would have been in serious trouble, possible could have died. So, yes, fire ants could kill you.