Dangers of Fire Ants

Imported fire ants are aggressive, reddish brown to black ants that are 1/8 to 1/4 in long. They construct nests which are often visible as dome-shaped mounds of soil, sometimes as large as 3 feet across and 1 1/2 feet in height. In sandy soils, mounds are flatter and less visible. Fire ants usually build mounds in sunny, open areas such as lawns, pastures, cultivated fields, and meadows, but they are not restricted to these areas. Mounds or nests may be located in rotting logs, around trees and stumps, under pavement and buildings, and occasionally indoors. When their nests are disturbed, numerous fire ants will quickly run out of the mound and attack any intruder. These ants are notorious for their painful, burning sting that results in a pustule and intense itching, which may persist for 10 days. Infections may occur if pustules are broken. Some people have allergic reactions to fire ant stings that range from rashes and swelling to paralysis, or anaphylactic shock. In rare instances, severe allergic reactions cause death.

In addition to stinging humans, imported fire ants can sting pets, livestock, and wildlife. Crop losses are also reported due to fire ants feeding on seedlings and even citrus trees. Harvesting machinery used on farms can be damaged by hitting hard fire ant mounds often found in clay soils. Electrical equipment and utility housings may serve as fire ant nest sites, sometimes resulting in short circuits.

To limit the spread of imported fire ants, a federal quarantine restricts the movement of soil, potted plants, plants with soil attached, grass sod, hay, and used soil-moving equipment to uninfested areas of the United States. These items must be certified that they are free from infestation. While there are no restrictions on the movement of regulated articles within Florida and other quarantine areas, any shipments outside the quarantine areas require inspection and certification from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry (FDACS-DPI). Information on specific laws and regulations may be obtained from any local office of the FDACS-DPI or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Plant Protection and Quarantine, (USDA-APHIS/PPQ).

Imported fire ants have been the target of innumerable methods of control. Unfortunately, there are no control methods that will permanently eliminate fire ants from an area. Four strategies are currently being used to control fire ants:

• broadcast bait applications,

• individual mound treatments,

• a combination of broadcast baiting and individual mound treatments, and,

• barrier and spot treatments.

To view this entire article, please visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh059.

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