JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Being a native of Florida, I've become accustomed to fire ants and the painful bites these small creatures can cause.
Moving here to South Carolina, I've found that they are here as well.
One morning as I headed to work, I saw a small ant hill forming in my front yard. I was running behind and since it was just a small ant hill, I didn't worry about it. When I came home from work that evening, I noticed the ant hill was a little larger now ... but again, I had other things that I had to do.
As the days progressed, the ant hill grew larger and was now spreading around the yard as more ant hills were created. I finally contacted an exterminator to rid my yard of the ants, which in turn killed all the grass. I had to pay a landscaper to lay new sod in my front yard, but I was finally was rid of the fire ants.
Looking back, I thought if I'd only taken care of that ant hill when I first saw it, I wouldn't have had to call so many people and replace the entire yard. The moral of this story is that problems, no matter how small they may seem, need attention as soon as you discover them. Single problems are easy to work with, but if you try to forget about your problems, other problems can grow from them. Sometimes, issues may seem too complex for you to solve yourself, but there is always help. Problems may need the assistance from a variety of our great resources on base, but they can be fixed.
The teams at the Airman & Family Readiness Center, Fleet & Family Support, Mental Health, Base Chapels and Military One Source are ready to provide assistance. It takes you to identify these problems. Don't wait until you need to replace the grass. Contact your unit first sergeant for more information.