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Ant Species Attacks Computers, Electronics in Houston

‘Crazy raspberry ants stack their dead to avoid pesticides on surfaces.’ -

There are many things that can harm electric devices like computers. From water to power surges to toddlers, computers are apt to be damaged by many different things. Some Houston, Texas residents are finding that a new danger is looking to harm their computers and electronics: ants.

A new species of ant has arrived in Houston and is believed to have come to Texas via a cargo ship that arrived at the Port of Houston. The ants are called crazy rasberry ants. The ants get the odd name from the fact that they tend to move erratically around in search of food rather than moving in orderly lines like typical ants.

The rasberry portion of the name comes from the exterminator who first battled the new species in Houston. The ants appear to be immune to the common over the counter ant sprays that Texas residents rely on to keep ants at bay during the hot and humid summer months.

There is one upside to the new species of ant— they eat fire ants. Fire ants are a huge problem and one of the most common pests in Texas with a vicious sting that leaves welts and burns like fire – hence the name.

The crazy rasberry ant will also bite humans, but it doesn’t do so with a stinger. The new ants are about the size of fleas. So far reports have come in that the ants have invaded computers causing them to stop working and caused fire alarms to malfunction.

These ants aren’t the only ant species known to invade electrical devices. Every hot and humid Texas summer, homeowners often end up at their air conditioning unit with a water hose trying to wash the fire ants out that have taken up residence and stopped the AC unit from functioning.

The problem with eradicating the crazy rasberry ants is that each colony has multiple queens that must be killed to wipe out the colony. A&M doctoral student Jason Meyers says, “The population built up so high that typical ant controls simply did no good.” Exterminators are trying to get the EPA to allow the use of stronger pesticides to combat the ant problem.

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