Overview of fire ants

Red imported fire ants aren’t supposed to be in the United States, but these dangerous pests have made themselves at home here. If you are stung by fire ants, you’ll probably know it. They swarm onto your skin and their stings feel like fire.

Fire ants range in color from red-brown to black, and grow up to 1/4 inch in length. They build nests or mounds about 1 foot high, usually in grassy areas like lawns and pastures. Unlike most anthills, fire ant nests don’t have just one entrance. The ants crawl all over the hill.

Fire ants are very aggressive when their nest is disturbed. If provoked, they swarm on the perceived intruder, anchor themselves by biting to hold the skin stable, and then sting repeatedly, injecting a toxin alkaloid venom called solenopsin. We refer to this action as “stinging.”

Fire ant nests are like small cities, sometimes containing as many as 200,000 ants, according to Texas A&M University. Inside these busy colonies, female workers maintain the nest’s structure and feed their young. Male drones breed with the queen or queens. When young queens mature in communities with more than one queen, they fly off with males to create new nests.

History of fire ants in the United States

Red imported fire ants came to the United States by accident in the 1930s. They have thrived in the Southern states and moved north because they had no local predators. There are fire ants native to the United States, but they are not as dangerous or hard to get rid of as red fire imported ants.

Fire ants can withstand just about any challenge. Researchers at the University of Arkansas found that it would take two weeks of temperatures below 10°F (-12°C) to kill an entire colony. While fire ants kill and eat other insects like regular ants, they have also been known to live on crops and animals. Fire ants can even form nests on water and float them to dry locations.

What is that sting?

If fire ants sting you, chances are you’ll know. They attack in swarms, racing up vertical surfaces (such as your leg) when their nests are disturbed. Each fire ant can sting several times.

To identify fire ant stings, look for groups of swollen red spots that develop a blister on the top. Stings hurt, itch, and last up to a week. Some people have dangerous allergic reactions to stings and will need to seek immediate medical help.

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Getting relief

Treat mild sting reactions by washing the affected area with soap and water and covering it with a bandage. Applying ice can reduce the pain. Topical treatments include over-the-counter steroid creams and antihistamines to reduce pain and itch.

Texas A&M University recommends a home remedy solution of half bleach, half water. Other home remedies include diluted ammonium solution, aloe vera, or astringents like witch hazel. These remedies may offer some relief, but there is no hard evidence to support their use.

The sting and bite marks should go away in about a week. Scratching can cause the affected area to become infected, which can make sting and bite marks last longer.

How bad can it get?

Anyone can develop an allergy to fire ant stings, although people who’ve been stung before are at higher risk. An allergic reaction can be fatal. Signs of a dangerous allergic reaction include:

1.sudden difficulty breathing

2.difficulty swallowing

3.nausea

4.dizziness

Symptoms develop quickly after exposure. It’s critical to get emergency medical treatment if you experience signs of an allergic reaction to a fire ant sting.

If you have a severe allergy, there are involved long-term treatments, including whole body extract immunotherapy. During this process, an allergist-immunologist injects ant extracts and venom into your skin. Over time, your sensitivity to the extracts and venom should decrease.

Avoid contact

The best way to avoid fire ant stings is to stay away from fire ants. If you see a nest, resist the temptation to disturb it. Wear shoes and socks when working and playing outside. If you are attacked by fire ants, move away from the nest and brush the ants off with a cloth or while wearing gloves so they can’t sting your hands.

Fire ant colonies are hard to destroy. There are some poisonous baits that when applied regularly may get rid of fire ants. The most common is a pesticide called piretherine. The best time to use bait against fire ants is during the fall, when ants are less active. Professional pest control companies treat fire ants where they are common. Dousing a fire ant hill with boiling water can also be effective for killing the ants, but it is also likely to cause the survivors to attack.

They’re no picnic

Fire ants are a growing problem in the southern United States. Avoid them whenever you can, and take basic protective measures when going outside, such as wearing shoes and socks. Be on the lookout for a severe allergic reaction in anyone who has been stung, and get emergency medical help if needed.

COPIED.

Pls comment 💃❣️❣️.

Dreams and visions misinterpreted

Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash

Is there a difference between a dream and a vision?

Reality dictates that while visions are comprised of dreams, dreams are not visions. Dreams are flights of fancy. Visions are directives.

To my way of thinking, vision is becoming -- you dream of possibility and you seek to put it into action.

Should we care if we dream or we envision? Yes.

Dreams are drifts of the imagination, as if one imaginary clouds in the sky. Visions are scripted efforts to effect change. They occur personally and organizationally.

Dreams are nice; visions are work.

Entrepreneurs are those who turn the dream into a plan -- a vision that they make real, either as a business, a process or something entirely new and different.

A visionary is one who sees potential in an idea -- not always his or her own -- and sees its possibilities.

Visionaries power our future. Visionaries turn dreams into practice and in this way make the world different for themselves and the rest of us.

Stop mistaking dreams to vision 😃😃😃

On your Android phone or tablet, open the My Maps app .

Open or create a map. A map can have up to 10,000 lines, shapes, or places.

In the bottom right, tap Add. Add a new point.

Drag the map until the X is where you want it, then tap Select this location.

Give your place a name and choose a layer. ...

Tap Done .

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. This involves publishing great content on your social media profiles, listening to and engaging your followers, analyzing your results, and running social media advertisements.

The major social media platforms (at the moment) are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat.

There are also a range of social media management tools that help businesses to get the most out of the social media platforms listed above. For example, Buffer is a platform of social media management tools, which can help you achieve success with your social media marketing. Whether you want to build a brand or grow your business, we want to help you succeed.

Learn more about Buffer

A Quick Overview of Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing first started with publishing. Businesses were sharing their content on social media to generate traffic to their websites and, hopefully, sales. But social media has matured far beyond being just a place to broadcast content.

Nowadays, businesses use social media in a myriad of different ways. For example, a business that is concerned about what people are saying about its brand would monitor social media conversations and response to relevant mentions (social media listening and engagement). A business that wants to understand how it’s performing on social media would analyze its reach, engagement, and sales on social media with an analytics tool (social media analytics). A business that wants to reach a specific set of audience at scale would run highly-targeted social media ads (social media advertising).

As a whole, these are often also known as social media management.

The Five Core Pillars of Social Media Marketing

Strategy

Planning and Publishing

Buffer Publish

Listening and Engagement

Analytics and Reporting

Buffer Analyze

Advertising

1. Strategy

Before you dive right in and publish something on social media, let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The first step is to think about your social media strategy.

What are your goals? How can social media help you achieve your business goals? Some businesses use social media for increasing their brand awareness, others use it for driving website traffic and sales. Social media can also help you generate engagement around your brand, create a community, and serve as a customer support channel for your customers.

Which social media platforms do you want to focus on? The major social media platforms, mentioned above, are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat. There are also smaller and up-and-coming platforms, such as Tumblr, Tik Tok, and Anchor, and social messaging platforms, such as Messenger, WhatsApp, and WeChat. When starting out, it’s better to pick a few platforms that you think your target audience is on than to be on all platforms.

What type of content do you want to share? What type of content will attract your target audience best? Is it images, videos, or links? Is it educational or entertaining content? A good place to start is to create a marketing persona, which will help you answer these questions. And this doesn’t have to be fixed forever; you can always change your strategy according to how your social media posts perform.

To help you create a great social media strategy, here are our long-form, step-by-step guides on creating a social media strategy and social media marketing plan.

Fortune Magazine uses social media to grow its brand.

"The main objective we have is to grow our brand. Social is a place where we can own our brand and promote it.

We pay a lot of attention to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ to promote our content and to break news, basically to get our stuff out there."

Heather Muse

Franchises and Social Media Editor, Fortune

Read case study

2. Planning and Publishing

Social media marketing for small businesses usually starts with having a consistent presence on social media. Close to three billion people (3,000,000,000!) use social media. By being present on social media platforms, you give your brand an opportunity to be discovered by your future customers.

Publishing to social media is as simple as sharing a blog post, an image, or a video on a social media platform. It’s just like how you would share on your personal Facebook profile. But you will want to plan your content ahead of time instead of creating and publishing content spontaneously. Also, to ensure that you are maximizing your reach on social media, you need to publish great content that your audience likes, at the right timing and frequency.

There are now a variety of social media scheduling tools, such as Buffer Publish, that can help you publish your content automatically at your preferred time. This saves you time and allows you to reach your audience when they are most likely to engage with your content.

Car Next Door schedules content to maintain a presence across a range of social media platforms with minimal time and fuss.

"Anytime I or someone else in the team publishes a new blog post or another piece of content I’ll add it to the queue in Buffer. If it’s evergreen content (which it almost always is) I’ll schedule it a few times over the next 3-4 months in different formats – a link directly to the post, with a graphic we’ve made in Canva, with a different caption, etc. The rest of the slots I’ll fill up with reposts of photos or videos our members have shared, recent media coverage of Car Next Door, and curated content that will be of interest to our audience."

Shannon Barker

Social Media Manager, Car Next Door

Read case study

3. Listening and Engagement

As your business and social media following grow, conversations about your brand will also increase. People will comment on your social media posts, tag you in their social media posts, or message you directly.

People might even talk about your brand on social media without letting you know. So you will want to monitor social media conversations about your brand. If it’s a positive comment, you get a chance to surprise and delight them. Otherwise, you can offer support and correct a situation before it gets worse.

You can manually check all your notifications across all the social media platforms but this isn’t efficient and you won’t see posts that didn’t tag your business’s social media profile. You can instead use a social media listening and engagement tool that aggregates all your social media mentions and messages, including posts that didn’t tag your business’s social media profile.

1Password engages and connects with their customers through social media.

"Today, it's more important than ever to meet customers where they are. We live much of our lives on social media and expect the brands we use to be there too. Our customers are as global as our far flung friends and family and the same tools that help us stay in touch with our loved ones, help 1Password stay engaged with the people who interact with us.

Engagement is more than just marketing. It's lending a helping hand when things go awry, keeping the conversation going when problems are solved, and spreading the good word about what we're up to and where folks can come say hi.

The conversations we have on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, and in our 1Password blog comments, allow us to truly engage and show folks that 1Password is not just an app, but a group of passionate (and sometimes goofy) humans working to make the web safer for everyone.

Kate Sebald

Social Interaction Lead, 1Password

4. Analytics

Along the way, whether you are publishing content or engaging on social media, you will want to know how your social media marketing is performing. Are you reaching more people on social media than last month? How many positive mentions do you get a month? How many people used your brand’s hashtag on their social media posts?

The social media platforms themselves provide a basic level of such information. To get more in-depth analytics information or to easily compare across social media platforms, you can use the wide range of social media analytics tools available, such as Buffer Analyze.

Foster Coffee Co. uses social media analytics to guide their content decisions.

"One of the things that I really like about Buffer is how I can build out as far as I want into the foreseeable future, but really start to tailor campaigns if we see certain trends within the industry. We can get ahead of that and it’s really easy to customize the publishing schedule afterwards.

We want to know our top performing posts for the year, we want to know what content was in those posts, so that way we can build a better model moving forward of content that generates more engagement.

Because as we know, the more engagement we can get online, the more that’s going to translate to a possible sale, or somebody walking through our doors, or checking out our website and maybe making a purchase that way”

Justin Ozanick

Marketing Associate, Foster Coffee Co.

Read case study

5. Advertising

When you have more funds to grow your social media marketing, an area that you can consider is social media advertising. Social media ads allow you to reach a wider audience than those who are following you.

Social media advertising platforms are so powerful nowadays that you can specify exactly who to display your ads to. You can create target audiences based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.

When you are running many social media advertising campaigns at once, you can consider using a social media advertising tool to make bulk changes, automate processes, and optimize your ads.

Buffer uses social media advertising to promote blog posts and reach a wider audience.

"We use Facebook ads to promote our blog posts. Facebook’s powerful targeting options mean that we have been able to show our ads to only people that we think would be interested in our content. And the results have been great. We have been getting a sizable amount of traffic each month for as low as eight cents per click!

We also use Facebook ads, Pinterest ads, and other social media ads to increase our brand awareness and engagement on the respective social media platforms. Many other companies also use social media ads to drive leads and sales.

Alfred Lua

Content Crafter, Buffer

Social Media Marketing Resources

Social media platforms are always evolving. When Facebook first started, people can only share text updates. Now, there are so many content formats such as images, videos, live videos, and Stories.

Hence, social media marketing is always changing, too. We want to help you stay up-to-date with all the latest changes and strategies to succeed on social media. Here are a few resources to get you started:

Social Media Marketing Blog

Buffer's social media marketing blog covers the latest social media strategies and tools for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more.

Social Media Marketing Guide

The complete beginner's guide to creating a social media marketing plan, for those brand new to social media and looking for a straightforward way to start.

Social Media Listening and Engagement Guide

Here’s why we think social media listening and engagement is so important and how you can overcome the challenges to developing a successful strategy.

Social Media Analytics Guide

There’s a wealth of information and insights in your social media data. Here are seven simple, quick, and actionable social media analytics tips.

IS THIS CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

Your underarms should naturally be about the same shade as the rest of your skin. But sometimes, the skin in the armpits can turn a darker hue. Dark underarms usually aren’t a sign of anything serious, but some people may find them embarrassing — especially during tank top and swimsuit season.

Darkening is often due to a skin condition called acanthosis nigricans (AN). It causes skin to thicken and darken in folds around the body.

Common areas of darkening include the:

armpits

back of the neck

groin

elbows

knees

Your skin might also itch or have a foul odor in those areas.

Anywhere from 7 to 74 percent of people experience some form of AN, according to a 2014 overviewTrusted Source of the condition. The likelihood of developing dark underarms often depends on factors like race, health, and family history.

Keep reading to learn more about why this happens and what you can do.

What causes this condition, and who’s at risk?

Your skin color is determined by pigment cells called melanocytes. When these cells multiply more, they can turn the skin a darker color.

Anyone can develop AN, but some people have a greater risk. People who have darker skin are more likelyTrusted Source to have darkening under their arms than people with lighter skin.

AN sometimes runs in families. You inherit it via a faulty gene. You’re more likelyTrusted Source to have dark patches on your skin if you have a parent, sibling, or other close relative with the condition.

Although AN is usually genetic or tied to an underlying condition, there’s some evidenceTrusted Source to suggest that hair removal may also be a culprit. It’s thought that irritation from repeated shaving or plucking might stimulate excess melanocyte production.

To avoid irritating your underarms, lubricate the skin with a gentle soap or shaving cream before shaving. Apply an unscented moisturizing cream afterward.

You may also be more likely to develop AN because of:

Obesity

Carrying extra weight makes your body more resistant to the effects of insulin. This hormone helps regulate your blood sugar. High levels of insulin in your blood can lead to increased production of skin pigment cells.

More than half of adultsTrusted Source who are 200 percent or more over their ideal body weight experience darkening in their underarms and other skin folds.

Type 2 diabetes

Obesity is also a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, a disease of high blood sugar. People who develop type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of AN.

Hormone syndromes

Some conditions that disrupt insulin levels can lead to AN.

This includes:

polycystic ovary syndrome

Cushing syndrome

acromegaly

hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid gland

Medication

Certain medications increase your insulin levels, which can lead to underarm darkening.

This includes:

insulin

corticosteroids, such as prednisone (Rayos)

human growth hormone

birth control pills

high-dose niacin (Niacor)

Cancer

In rare casesTrusted Source, sudden skin darkening could be a sign of cancer. When this happens, it often affects the stomach, liver, or colon. These tumors increase levels of growth factors that stimulate skin pigment cells.

When AN is caused by cancer, it’s called malignant acanthosis nigricans. You’ll likely see dark patches around your mouth.

HOW IS IT TREATED?

Often, treating the medical condition that caused your dark underarms will fix the issue. A combination of medicines and home remedies could help lighten the color.

Lifestyle changes and home remedies

Obesity is one of the leading causes of dark underarms. Losing weight can often fix the problem. Weight loss is an effective way to treat diabetes, too. Talk to your doctor about diet and fitness strategies to help you get down to a healthy weight for your height.

If you suspect that a medication you’re taking is causing your dark underarms, talk to your doctor about switching to another one.

NATURAL REMEDIES

A few natural remedies have been promoted for lightening pigmented skin, including:

sea cucumber extracts

curcumin

milk thistle extract

These products haven’t been proven to lighten dark underarms, and some of them might cause side effects. Talk to your doctor or dermatologist before using any natural remedy.

MEDICATION AND PROCEDURES

Your dermatologist can prescribe medications to help lighten the skin under your arms.

Popular Options Include:

Retinoid creams or pills. Tretinoin (Retin-A) is considered the first-line treatment for AN. When used regularly, it can help thin and lighten the skin in affected areas.

Chemical peels. Peels containing trichloroacetic acid (TCA) can help exfoliate the skin. This process helps remove the thicker, damaged skin to reveal new, smooth skin.

Calcipotriene (Dovonex). This vitamin D-based cream reduces skin pigment cells.

Dermabrasion, which resurfaces the skin, and laser therapies are also used to treat dark skin under the arms.

If you have cancer, your doctor will perform surgery to remove the tumor. Once the tumor is removed, the darkened skin will often clear up.

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When to see your doctor

Although dark underarms are usually harmless, they’re worth getting checked out by a dermatologist — especially if you think you might have a condition like diabetes or an underactive thyroid gland. Treating the condition that caused it will usually make the dark skin fade.

If you suddenly see dark patches under your arms and on other areas of your skin, see your dermatologist or primary care doctor right away. This could be a sign of more serious condition, like cancer.

You can book an appointment with a dermatologist in your area using our Healthline FindCare tool.

RECEIVE MONEY

How To Pick Up Money

You can pick up money at any participating Agent location in the city selected by the Sender. Be sure to check the status of your money transfer using the MTCN number to be sure it is ready to pick up.

1. Visit an Agent Location

Use our online Agent locator to find a location near you.

Visit our Agents in Nigeria page for more information and phone numbers.

2. Complete the To Receive Money Form at the Agent Location

Complete the To Receive Money form using printed, capital letters.

Sender's name

Where money was sent from

Test question and answer (if applicable)

MTCN if required

3. Present ID and Form to the Agent Clerk

Your completed form

Your government-issued ID (where applicable)

4. Receive the Money

The Agent clerk will check your ID

Sign the receipt

Collect your money

Receive Money on Your Mobile Phone

You can receive money on your mobile phone with our mobile money transfer service.

Depending on the services offered by your mobile service provider, you can use the money to pay bills, buy goods and services, purchase minutes, and withdraw cash.1

It’s fast, easy, and convenient—for both you and your sender. All you need is a mobile wallet2 with a participating mobile service provider in your country.

Ask your sender to choose ‘receiver’s mobile wallet’ as their payout option and make sure they have your correct mobile number with country code.

You’ll get a text message3 after the money is added to your wallet.

1 Service options are determined by the mobile phone service provider.

2 Funds will be paid to your receiver’s mobile wallet account provider for credit to the account tied to your receiver’s mobile number. Additional third-party charges may apply, including SMS and account over-limit and cash-out fees. Funds availability is subject to the terms and conditions of service.

3 Standard message and data rates from mobile service providers may apply.

Restrictions and Special Notes

Sending from Nigeria:

Transactions above $10,000 US dollars or local equivalent must be reported to Central Bank of Nigeria.

Sending transactions is only allowed within the country (not outside Nigeria).

Receiving in Nigeria:

Transactions above $10,000 US dollars or local equivalent must be reported to Central Bank of Nigeria.

Receivers must present correct Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN).

Receivers must present a valid ID.

Pay without ID on the Test Question alone is forbidden in Nigeria.

US dollar payments in Nigeria are available at no charge to the receiver:

- First Bank of Nigeria PLC (all locations)

- Zenith International Bank (all locations)

- Wema Bank (all locations)

- Standard Trust Bank (all locations)

- Oceanic Bank International (limited locations)

- Ecobank Nigeria PLC (limited locations)

- Intercontinental Bank PLC (limited locations)

- Guarantee Trust Bank (limited locations)

- AllStates Trust Bank (limited locations)

- NBM Bank (limited locations)

U.S. dollar payouts are subject to availability.

If sufficient US currency is not available, payout may be made both in US dollars and Nigerian Naira using Western exchange rate at the time of payment.

For additional details on locations or cities offering US dollar payouts please contact:

- First Bank of Nigeria PLC,

+234 1 266 4247 or 264 04 98

- Oceanic Bank International,

+234 1 270 5036

- Ecobank Nigeria PLC,

+234 1 818 55 49 or 270 13 21

- Intercontinental Bank PLC,

+234 1 262 29 63 or 262 30 14

- Zenith International Bank,

+234 1 270 07 41 or 270 07 42

- Guarantee Trust Bank PLC,

+234 1 262 26 80 or 480 43 98

- WEMA Bank,

+234 1 461 32 78

- Standard Trust Bank at

+234 1 461 6645

- AllStates Trust Bank at

+234 1 461 84 56 or 461 84 26

- NBM Bank at

+234 1 270 49 79

US dollar payment is available in the following cities:

- Aba

- Abakaliki

- Abeokuta

- Abuja

- Akure

- Alaba

- Apapa

- Asaba

- Awka

- Benin City

- Calabar

- Eket

- Enugu

- Ibadan

- Idumagbo

- Ikeja

- Ilorin

- Ilupeju

- Jos

- Kaduna

- Kano

- Lagos

- Lekki/Ajah

- Maiduguri

- Mushin

- Nnewi

- Onitsha

- Otta

- Owerri

- Port Harcourt

- Shomolu

- Trade Fair

- Ughelli

- Uyo

- Victoria Island

- Warri

- Yenegoa

General Information:

Money transfers sent to Nigeria must include a Test Questions …

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