Had a life changing event, need some advice / guidance

[BeardedBassGuy]

Sorry, this is going to be a bit long...

Just recently we discovered my 3 year old is allergic to fireant bites. Not just allergic, but deathly allergic. And in testing at an allergist, even the smallest amount of venom (1 part venom, 100 parts water) caused a reaction in him. Needless to say, it's pretty bad, and obviously a bit scary for me and my wife.

I have a huge ant problem at home, and no matter how much or what type of poisoning happens (even professional) we still get ants within a week. The wife and I plan on moving soon, but we are at least a year out on that, and being Texas, we can't guarantee the next house will be any better.

I've been thinking over certain things that can cause worse issues, including my wood pile. And this is where I need some guidance.

I'm about 90% to the point of selling my offset and all my wood. I love cooking stickburners, and future plans incuded a part time catering company. But my son's health (and life) are so much more important than that. And I want to make sure I do EVERYTHING in my power to keep him safe, and if that means getting rid of my wood to make that happen, I will.

Now, he's starting an immunotherapy treatment that is supposedly 95% effective, but it will be around a year until it's at full effect, and even then it's not 100%.

So, I guess... What would you do? Do you have any advice on how to maybe store the wood so I can keep it and it not be a magnet for ants?

I will keep making Que regardless, and will swap to a charcoal cooker if needed. But I've never used charcoal smokers and would have no idea where to start... So any advice on that would be great as well. As well as any info on the difference in how the meat turns out in a charcoal cooker vs a stickburner.

Anyway, as I said, just looking for some insight from y'all. It's been a rough couple of months dealing with all this as it unfolds. My mind is just scrambled and I want to keep my son safe.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[dadsr4]

Since you ask, I'd dump anything that increases his risk. I've cooked, most of my life, over charcoal and lump, it's quite possible to put out good food that way.
"But I've never used charcoal smokers and would have no idea where to start...".
Do you really think we won't give you more advice than you probably want?
I, myself, cook anything on a kettle that I can fit. Except brisket, you will have to go elsewhere for that.

 

[Moose]

Sorry to hear about your son, but you are doing the right thing.



You can get fine Q out of both drums and WSM's. The flavor profile on a charcoal smoker is a bit stronger than a stickburner, though if you use lump, it instead of briquets, it's less noticeable.

 

[WilliamKY]

Sorry about your son. I hope things work out. My dad used to use an old chest type deep freezer on his farm to keep mice out of the horse feed. I dont know if that's practical for you but you could probably get a decent amount of small split wood inside of one. Find a junk one and probably get it free.

 

[Mikhail]

Can you leave Texas to somewhere fire ants are not? Moving where they still are doesn't seem like it would buy you much. I guess I would also wonder whether other ants would bother him as well.

 

[sudsandswine]

If my child were deathly allergic to fire ants I'd try to find a place where theres no fire ants, smoker wood or not. Sorry to hear about the predicament, hope the treatment works well.

 

[SmittyJonz]

Thats Sucks. Fell Sorry for the Lil' Dude. You got a Shirley on Order? so sell the stickburner and give away the wood and go UDS till the Shirley comes in and by then Hopefully the Treatments are working and he's no longer Allergic.

 

[BeardedBassGuy]

Thanks for all the support and info guys.

For the guys saying to move away from the ants. That's my first thought for sure. However, we also care for my elderly grandmother (and there is literally no one else to do it) and she couldn't handle a move. We would need to wait until she passes to do that.

I am considering every option ... And willing to do everything I can to keep my boy safe.

 

[work2play2]

1. Sorry to hear this. 2. Go online and look up bifenthrin. Order you some. Put in in a pump sprayer or some kinda sprayer and spray your yard and around your yard often. I own a pest control company. This stuff works. Get the liquid. And not that price matters right now but it is very cheap. Good luck

 

[Smoking Piney]

I'm not in Texas, but I did live in Georgia for about 10 years and fire ants were a fact of life and were everywhere. In GA, it would be tough to move away from them, as they covered most of the state.....don't know that about in TX.

 

[Titch]

Sorry to here about the reactions, seeing as you say .
" Now, he's starting an immunotherapy treatment that is supposedly 95% effective, but it will be around a year until it's at full effect, and even then it's not 100%.

could you offload the wood and put the Smokers in storage and see how it pans out?
You did say you cant move for at least a year.
Hope it all works out mate

 

[Mikhail]

Man...it is tough to be the caregiver on both ends. As difficult as it is, you are clearly a good man. You’ll never be sorry you took care of her too.

 

[Czarbecue]

1. Sorry to hear this. 2. Go online and look up bifenthrin. Order you some. Put in in a pump sprayer or some kinda sprayer and spray your yard and around your yard often. I own a pest control company. This stuff works. Get the liquid. And not that price matters right now but it is very cheap. Good luck

Haha. I sent him a link to Bifen XTS on Amazon. I went though almost the same thing with my kid in GA and went scorched earth on my yard. This stuff is amazing.

 

[Jason TQ]

Got fire ants like crazy here in GA. Not 100% sure what I would do since it isn’t a reality for me and that is different than what I think I would do not actually living your scenario.

You said you are moving to another part of tx. Are you doing that literally because of this problem? If so not sure if that is a fix…..and can be an expensive experiment if there are still ants. Just because I have fire ants at my house here doesn’t mean another part of GA there won’t be as many. Maybe I read you post wrong there.

I have a wood pile and don’t think it is doing anything to add to my normal ant problem. But it certainly can so getting rid could help, but it’s just one of those weird ass scenarios of what can a person do to protect their family vs what will randomly happen or not happen based on changes made.

In theory if kid isn’t rolling in the grass all day long (sucks to keep them inside) then things are fine. I never see fire ants in my house. Are they in your house? A lot of factors here.

Long story short. I wouldn't be moving, I'd try all pest control options. If you think moving to another part of TX isn't any better then you need to move somewhere where fire ants aren't a problem and maybe move into something that isn't a single unit house.

 

[ChrisL]

Up in the northeast most lawn and garden centers sell wood by the handful. Sure you will pay a little more, but you could just buy enough wood for 1 or 2 smokes which should not give the ants enough time to take hold. As someone else suggested sealed storage, how about a couple of 55 gallon drums with tight fitting lids?

 

[Joe Black]

IMHO...I would try whatever the pest control guy suggested. On top of that, I would do what any local professional suggested. I would definitely do this as soon as possible. If any type of corrective action does not help and give 100% satisfaction, I would move to the moon if it would help my son. If that is out of the question and you think that the wood is a problem, I would get rid of it immediately. I used a WSM for several years and got some really fine results.

There is not anything that I would not do for the safety of my family. Good luck.

 

[pjtexas1]

Sorry to hear this. I hope the stuff they listed above works. I don't know if moving or getting rid of the wood pile will help but i bet i would try if nothing else worked.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Huskres]

1. Sorry to hear this. 2. Go online and look up bifenthrin. Order you some. Put in in a pump sprayer or some kinda sprayer and spray your yard and around your yard often. I own a pest control company. This stuff works. Get the liquid. And not that price matters right now but it is very cheap. Good luck

This! I have a buddy who is rural by the lake that also has scorpions and by spraying often he means weekly or scorpions get in the house.

 

[quenut1955]

Bifen XTS will solve your problem. I have used it for the last year and no Fire ants, no ants period of any kind. It kill about 50 insects. I had about 50 fire ant piles at the church ballfield and they were gone after 1 day. retreat every 6 weeks 33 oz. treats 1,000 sq. feet.

 

[Sid Post]

As someone who "had" horrendous allergies, I can empathize with your son. Before allergy treatment, I had ear infections to the point my hearing was at risk as well as developing drug resistance to ear infections. I could tell when and which trees were blooming in Colorado from DFW, Texas. Hay fever doesn't begin to describe my allergies back then.

After ~7 years of self-administering allergy shots after 18 months of doctor supervised allergy shots at a medical clinic, my tolerance built up enough I was off prescription allergy meds and basically off OTC meds as well. Desensitization therapy works!

Regarding fire ants in Texas, I don't think you can move anywhere in the state and escape them. I have fire ants all over and my wood pile doesn't seem to be any worse than anything else. A single branch or piece of firewood, however, is a different story. :mad2: