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Ants

Ants

Ants annoy people in various ways. They destroy agricultural produce in plantations and warehouses. They are disturbing and their bite causes pain to human and pets. Their presence also contaminates food. Some kinds of ant can bite or even sting such as Ponerinae, Cerapachyinae, and Pseudomyrmecinae, or Tetraponera ants. In fact, some other subfamilies of ants can also sting like fire ants and big-headed ants but they do not cause as much as pain as the families mentioned above.

Ants that we normally see in our house and sometimes bite us actually have no sting. They use their jaws or fangs instead. Such ants include red ants and fire ants that not only bite but also release acid or substances that cause irritation. Wood ants that have big jaws and are capable of inflicting a wound like a knife cut include those in the Formicinae (a subfamily of Oecophylla Smaragdina ants and large wood ants) and Dolichoderinae family (a subfamily of ghost ants).

Ant poison released by biting and stinging has varying effects on each victim, depending on their level of allergy to the poison. Those who suffer from mild allergy may only get a slight pain without any swelling or other complicated symptoms. The moderate allergy symptoms include rash, bruise or transparent pimples that, with no scratching, usually recover within one week.

For severe allergy, patients will experience a chest pain as the poison gets into their blood circulation, obstructing the flow of blood to their heart. As a result, ants are considered a destructive pest that need to be controlled, prevented and eradicated.