The bees may think they're real flowers. Don't wear sweet-smelling perfume.

When you go on picnics, cover the food. Soda and cake attract bees. Don't drink from open cans. Yellow jackets like to climb inside the cans and will sting from there. And if you see a bee flying around you, don't swat at it or run around. This makes it angry, and they may sting. Move slowly or stand still, and the bee will most likely fly away.

Fire ants are another type of common insect. They are found all throughout the @Southeastern and @Southwestern @United @States. They build large mounds and can inflict a painful sting. The most common type is the red imported fire ant. It is reddish-brown in color. It is about half the size of a pencil eraser. These ants are very hostile.

Red imported fire ants live in colonies. First, they nest in the ground. They are usually found wherever there is grass. However, some fire ants create nests in the walls of buildings. As they build the colony, they create a mound of dirt over the nest. The mound can grow up to 18 inches high and over two feet wide!

When you get bitten by a fire ant, you will feel a sharp pain and a burning at the site. Each sting will turn into an itchy blister over the next day.

The fire ants' bite contains venom. This can cause the area to swell up quite a bit. You treat the bite the same way you treat a bee sting.