Fire Ants
FIRE ANTS - commonly called red ants, stinging ants, cow killers, mad ants, and mound ants. This is a severe pest, economically and medically, in the Southern States from the Atlantic coast to Arizona and is moving northward. They are called Fire Ants because of the severe reactions caused by their stings which can be quite painful and dangerous to individuals who are allergic to them. They belong to the Order Hymenoptera just like bees and wasps so if you are allergic to them then you are allergic to ants. They can kill young wildlife and saplings. Their stings produce sores called pustules and depending on the persons reaction and the number of stings received the symptoms could be much worse requiring hospitalization. They also damage electrical components because they are attracted to the electrical vibrations and they will chew into wires causing shorts and possibly fires. If you have ever played in an infested field or stood too close to a colony and been attacked by them then you know how bad they can be.
Biology - Workers are 1.6 to 5.8 mm long and are red, brown, yellowish, black or a combination of these colors depending on specie and area of the country. Depending on the area of the country the colonies could be multi-queen or single queen colonies. Multi queen colonies are mostly in Texas. Their winged reproductives do fly out of the nest and are commonly mistaken for Termite swarmers. Key differences are that ant swarmers have the pinched waist while the termite does not plus the termite wings are of equal length.
Nests and Habits - their nests are typically mounds of dirt anywhere from a few inches to a few feet in size and can be a matter of feet in depth. They typically build these mounds against things like sidewalks, houses, fence posts, under rocks and stones, and when disturbed they come out in force of hundreds or even thousands to defend the colony. One of the strange habits of Fire ants is that they will not sting until all of a sudden when they are all over their victim one will sting and secrete a chemical then they will all start stinging. That is why when people or animals get attacked they are usually covered with the pustules all over their leg or arm or whatever had the misfortune of being in their midst.
Control - most controls for Fire ants are baits and there are several to choose from. DuPont Advion Fire Ant Bait, Extinguish Plus Fire Ant Bait, and Maxforce Fire Ant Bait are some great choices. Extinguish Plus has an added advantage in that it also has an Insect Growth Regulator in it to sterilize the queens. Now a newer insecticide uses a different approach. Topchoice granular insecticide is a granule that you put out all over your yard and when properly watered in it can give you 52 weeks of control of Fire ants, a whole year of control with just one treatment. It is due to its ingredient, Fipronil, and how it binds with the soil. It is currently labeled only for use in the Southeastern U.S. over to Texas and Oklahoma. Maxforce and Niban granular baits are very good general baits for ants and other insects, Advance Dual Choice Ant Bait Stations, Gourmet Ant Gel Bait Syringe, and Drax Dual Ant Bait Syringe are excellent for the ants that happen to come indoors. Liquid residual type insecticides and aerosols will also kill ants indoors and out but are usually only a quick fix. You seldom get the colony so the problem usually comes back. But these are good to have when you need that quick kill for instant relief. Just make sure not to spray around any bait product you have put out because the ants might avoid the bait then. You can also use the liquid residuals to spray barrier treatments or use them as a mound drench. Some good choices are Onslaught, Talstar Pro, Demand CS, Suspend SC, Demon WP, and Cynoff WP. All are excellent with long residual activity and should work for weeks depending on conditions such as rainfall, temperature, etc. A common non chemical approach is to drench the mound with boiling water. This will give you a top kill for immediate relief but that is about all and it does unfortunately kill the grass too. Also, using grits is a fable, it does not kill them. This is due to the fact that they can not eat solids so the thought that they eat the grits and it expands in their gut and they explode is incorrect. If anything it might make them move their mound a few feet, but that is about it. Always remember to read all chemical labeling before using.
Geographic Location(s): Found all across the Southeast and west to Arizona. They are moving north though.
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