Like many pests, the fire ant was accidentally brought to the United States via cargo ship. In 1929, a ship carrying soil from South America arrived in Alabama but the imported fire ants soon spread to many of the states in the south and now the ants can be found as far north as Maryland and as far west as California.

What you need to know about fire ants:

• They look similar to ordinary ants but…are much more aggressive and their head is a lighter color than the rest of the body
• Fire ants (and all ants) are strong! They can lift fives times their weight
• The ants build large mounds (see picture to the right) that can be over a foot high, a foot wide and several feet deep into the ground
• Fire ants will eat just about any plant OR animal material…it’s no wonder they’ve been able to take over so quickly
• Researchers believe the ants wont be able to make it much further north since it’s thought that the ants can’t live in ground that drops below freezing for 2-3 weeks

But believe it or not, fire ants do have their benefits. These aggressive pests will feed on other pests such as cockroaches, ticks, etc…

The USDA has been working to control the fire ants with natural insect enemies and most of these insects target just fire ants so the population of other insect wont be affected. Two enemies that are being used in particular include the decapitating fly and the fire ant disease. Fire ant disease is in fact a protozoan disease that weakens the entire fire ant colony which slows growth.

Store bought fire ant baits are effective for controlling the fire ants mounds in your yard. The granular bait is usually sprinkled on the mound, doused with water and let sit. But for best results, follow the instructions on the fire ant bait and when in doubt, contact a pest control company.

What to do for fire ant bites?

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