National Ledger - Photos, Video: Crazy Raspberry Ants Attack in Texas, Disable Computers

Share This \| Related Photos, Video: Crazy Raspberry Ants Attack in Texas, Disable Computers
By Lynda Johnson May 19, 2008

Texas is being hit with a one two punch of pests. First crazy raspberry ants hit the state and now on the Texas Gulf Coast here comes something called Paratrechina pubens. Or at least that's what their name is for now as some are calling them "running ants" (or "something like that" as the New York Times points out. No one seems certain what to call the new destructive ants.

Crazy Raspberry Ants Attack in Texas, Disable Computers

Houston is in real trouble with the peats as the city has been hit with a computer bug and it's not the usual computer virus, these are real bugs. A swarm of ants have hit town and are eating through electronics, including computers. The "Crazy Raspberry Ants" are believed to have arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship, and are causing widespread mayhem for residents everywhere. There are so many of them they are hard to contain.

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For some unknown reason they are attracted to electrical equipment and that is causing problems for residents in the Deep South. The ants have destroyed personal computers in homes and offices, and another report claims they have ruined pumps at a sewage treatment plant and even taken a fancy to homeowners' gas meters, according to reports from the Associated Press.

A video titled, "Hide Your Computers ! - New Breed Of Electronic-Eating Ants Attacks Houston is here. It shows dozens crawling all over a man's hand and has other footage of the "crazy ants" erratic behavior. There are more photos of the little wild and crazy pests here.

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"If you open a computer, you would find a cluster of ants on the motherboard and all over," said Tom Raspberry, the owner of Budget Pest Control and the man the ants have been named after. Another local report notes that for now Downtown Houston seems to have been spared.

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