Fire Ants On The Fairways Of Your Golf Course
If you play golf in south-east Queensland you could have fire ants on the fairways of your golf course. These stinging little buggers can play havoc with the playability and health of your golf course. Many parts of Brisbane and the Gold Coast are infested with fire ants. Solenopsis Invicta is the proper scientific name for these red imported fire ants. Invicta means invincible in Latin and they are tough to get rid of. You will know all about it if a few of them bite you and sting you. In fact, if you are susceptible to anaphylactic shock you could be in serious danger from the sting of a fire ant.
Red Imported Fire Ants Infesting Golf Courses
These tiny copper coloured ants are around 2-6mm in size. They have a poison sack on their back which they empty into victims when they attack. You get different sizes, which is distinctive from most other types of ants. They are not native to Australia and have free loaded their way here via cargo ships and freight containers. Originally from Argentina, we were infested via cargo from the United States – which spends around $5 billion a year fighting them and dealing with their damage. Not only biting and stinging humans but pets, livestock, wild animals, they are omnivorous – which means they eat everything. They bugger up electrical wiring and machinery like traffic lights and metre boxes on properties. A lot of fire ants is a shit storm to deal with.
What Fire Ants Will Do At Your Golf Club
On the golf course they will get into and stuff up your electrics running irrigation for greens and fairways. Fire ants can infest greenkeeper machinery in the sheds and nest in the many piles of earth, sand, and mulch. In the clubhouse and surrounds they can cause havoc too. The pro-shop same story. I mean, imagine reaching into the hole after a good putt and getting bit and stung by fire ants. What a bummer and no reward for effort. My advice is to be on the lookout for fire ants at your golf club.
“These reddish brown ants are well known for their aggressiveness and stings that produce a burning sensation. The term fire ant actually applies to a group of New World ant species in the genus Solenopsis. All fire ants in the genus Solenopsis can be separated from all other ants by having two segments in their narrow waists and antennae with 10 segments. Their workers are polymorphic, ranging in size from small to large. Fire ant venom consists mainly of piperidine alkaloids, which are highly unusual as animal by-products and are found only in the ant genera Solenopsis and Monomorium. The venom also contains a small amount of protein (<1%) that can cause anaphylactic shock in susceptible individuals.”
Be warned about the dangers of fire ants on the fairways of your golf course. Take heed golfers and check out the state of your golf club. Fire ants and golf are not a good match.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author The Stoic Golfer. His new book is called Bite & Smile. https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DPM9WS6K
©GolfDom
