I was unlocking my golf cart one night and was parked under a tree with large roots. Little did I know that fire ants build their homes under the tree roots for protection. Anyway, within seconds those damn tiny ants were all over my feet. I was in sandals of course. The pain was like nothing I have ever felt, except childbirth. I ran to find some light and brushed them off as fast as I could. That was just the beginning. The pain grew more and more intense. It doesn't go away. Luckily a local guy noticed my plight and ran in to a building and came out with some rubbing alcohol. He poured it all over my feet and after about 15 minutes the pain started to subside. What a nice guy. That is what most people of AC are like. So, if any of you get on top of a fire ant mound and are unfortunate enough to suffer the same fate I did, remember, rubbing alcohol is the only thing that will give you any relief. The next day I had little itchy blisters all over my feet. The marks are still there and it has been over 2 weeks since we returned from our trip. BUMMER - BE CAREFUL!

Well I did not know they had fire ants in SP. Guess I will just not go back.

We have those damn ants so bad here in Texas you just have to watch where you are walking all the time.

Really? I had never experienced an encounter with the little devils and I don't plan on doing it ever again!
No fire ant is going to scare me away from the beautiful island. I will just be looking down more often! Hope a taxi driver doesn't nail me when I'm looking down... Those guys are NUTS!

OMG, those little bastards are the worse thing God created. I had them all over my property here in Texas. I mentioned it to an older guy one day and he told me a secret how to get rid of them. You take a shovel full of one ant pile and dump it onto another ant pile... Repeat until you've mixed the dirt from all the piles onto other pils.

Within one day every ant was dead, every pile decaying... it was simply amazing. I couldn't believe it. It works 100% and much better than the powders you can buy.

One of my very first experiences in Belize - while waiting for the boat to pick us up and take us to Lamanai Outpost Lodge I placed my jacket on the ground, I picked it up 5 minutes later and put it on as I boarded the boat, within a few minutes I found out what Fire Ants were, hated the bastards ever since.

Denny, that is amazing! I bet they are such evil, toxic creatures they fight with each other until death. As far as I'm concerned, let's all start mixing fire ant piles right now! You know how the biting bugs on AC get at sunset and sunrise, well, I'll stand out naked at sunset with no bug spray any day rather than deal with one fire ant. How can something so tiny pack such a punch?

Simon, I hear your pain. Every guide should warn people on their trips about those evil creatures. What did you do? Had the boat started on the river yet? How in the hell did you deal with the pain with nowhere to go? I think I would have risked the crocodiles and jumped in the river!

Was only about a dozen bites and I got the jacket off fast, just sucked it up past that point. Did a lot of bouncing up and down on my seat to the amusement of everyone on board.

As an FYI:

Do fire ants sting or bite? Why didn't I feel any ants on me until I was stung multiple times?

Fire ants bite and then sting! One feels a prickly sensation as the ants bite the skin's surface with their mandibles to get a grip. The bite does not inject venom, rather this gives them a solid anchor at the head end, while they jab the stinger (a hypodermic-like device modified from the ovipositor, the egg laying structure) into the victim, injecting a toxic alkaloid venom from a special gland and at the same time releasing an alarm pheromone (chemical signal) that excites additional attackers. Fire ants do not inject formic acid, as in the case in many ants. (Not all ants sting, but fire ants do and it is the venom injected by the sting that people react to. Some other ants that don't sting do bite and then squirt venom onto the area of the bite.)

Thanks Simon. That's a lot more than I want to know about 'em! (cringe) (cringe)

hypodermic-like egg laying structure - now I'm really grossed out! They must have released a ton of the alarm pherome because I had hundreds of them on me in just a few seconds. You should have seen me the rest of the trip. Looking down all the time checking out where I was walking - warning my kids and husband to be careful and watch where they were standing. It was an experience I won't soon forget. One of those live and learn things. Thanks for your expertise Simon. I learned more than I thought I would from this post!