I’ve been quiet a little while but not intentionally. I’ve been busy just experiencing life. I wanted to share a little story with you all. Some of you may relate. Anyway, a couple weekends ago, I was mowing my back yard. In Arizona, we have to do these things very early. Especially this time of year because it is so hot. Anyway, I’m out at 8:00 in the morning, wearing my Tom’s, a comfy T-shirt and shorts doing my thing. Unbeknownst to me, several colonies of fire ants had migrated into my back yard since I last mowed. In fact, they had taken over just about 50% of the yard. So, I’m mowing like normal when I felt something bite my hand…and within the same span of time, several very painful bites on both of my feet. I stopped (in the wrong place, of course) and brushed the swarm of black ants off my shoes, my legs, the tops of my feet and my hands.
I went into the house grabbed my gloves, and the hose to hose off the infantry assaulting my little push mower. I like the exercise so use an old school push mower. Although it’s pretty turquoise, it was covered in black ants. So, I moved it away from the ant hill, hosed off the ants, made sure I didn’t have any more on me, and then I finished up the last third of my yard very quickly and only received a few more bites even though I was more aware. The bites were super painful. Within a couple of days I had very big raised red welts that were painful. I think I only ended up with 15 or so bites/stings…whatever. It was wholly unpleasant. But I finished the task.
I called Terminix to come treat my back yard and they came out right away. They treat it every 3 months and we’ve had problems in the past but never so wide spread. Anyway, two weeks later it was time to mow again. I had decided a week ago, I needed better equipment to mow. I had gloves – check! I ordered some hiking boots, thick socks, and ordered myself a white long-lightweight T-shirt and put on a light pair of Khakis. My thought was, tuck the pants into the thick socks so if they do climb, they can’t get skin! Then the light colors were just to make the ants easier to spot. My boots are also khaki color just so I can spot any hitchhikers.
So, today was the day I had to mow the lawn again and trim all the shrubs. I was apprehensive that morning, I’m not going to lie. Woman versus Fire Ant Skirmish 2026 did not go well. But I wasn’t going to surrender my yard to the ants. Also, I’m just getting over a virus and so have zero tolerance for any form of nonsense or fire ant declarations of war on my person. But today, I was better prepared. I started on the other side of the yard furthest from the ant colonies. If I had to stop, I did not stop on the grass. I made it half way through the yard before the hitch hikers popped out in abundance. I could easily see them on my shoes, if they climbed up my mower, got my gloves or my white shirt. I spot checked every few feet and stopped at the pavement to stomp any off of my being, do a quick spot check and then back to it. I was almost finished and had about two more passes to go when exhaustion and overheating set in. I’ve always just pushed through things like this but a thought occurred to me – do you want to pass out on the ant hill? Um, not so much I thought after considering. I took a water break in the house where it was nice and cool, drank some water, and let the little warriors settle for a few minutes. I got back out there and tackled the last two passes very quickly and finished the job. I was even able to get out the trimmer and shape up my shrubs without encountering any more ant soldiers.
Today was a success. But not because I won or I beat the evil fire ants. My thought was:
1. Understand: Fire ants do what fire ants do…they swarm, they sting and bite anything that moves remotely near. No need to take it personally. Just call the exterminator and stay on top of “negotiating” a lower population in places my grandson would not be safe without intervention.
2. Prepare: Dress properly for the task you’re about to take on – your safety matters.
3. Be Thoughtful: Don’t push your luck in the AZ heat. Heat exhaustion is real and happens quicker than you think. Also, pushing through isn’t always the best way to accomplish a task – I mean I take a break between sets when I’m lifting weights for a reason. I lift heavy and push myself but never too far.
4. Shift Strategies: You can accomplish more with planning but do also be prepared to shift your strategy if you find it is not successful. Don’t stress the process, just shift to something else that works and keep moving.
I have always appreciated the statement: The Obstacle is the Path. Today, I learned something from that. The fire ants were definitely an obstacle but with some understanding, preparation, being thoughtful and openness to shifting strategies, I got the job done in no time and not one bite today. The ants are still present in my backyard and that’s a discussion with my friends at Terminix. I need something a bit more intense than granules maybe but we’ll see what they think when they’re back out to my place in a few short weeks. I learned today that I don’t have to fear the ants or consider them villains and myself a victim. I could take a completely different path and do my best to co-exist.
© July 2026, Jaie Hart
