Fire Ants (sample newsletter article)

One of my fears with this blog is that I will focus too much on pest control in northern climates. I was raised in Maine and educated in New York, so most of my experience is in these states.  To compensate, I draw on the experience and materials from my colleagues. This week I want to share what I’ve recently learned about fire ants. 

Take fire ants seriously, especially if there are children on your properties. Ants are closely related to wasps, so it’s no surprise that some ants sting. People can be allergic to fire ant stings and most people’s skin reacts in an unpleasant way—pustules.  Multiple-queen colonies may have 200 or more mounds and 40 million ants per acre—that’s a lot of stingers.

There are a few different kinds of fire ants in the southern part of the U.S. The three of greatest concern are the Red, Black, and Hybrid Fire Ants. I’m not going to go into detail on how to tell the species apart. Know you’re at great risk if your in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and sporadically in Maryland. Despite quarantine efforts, they may spread to some or all of the red and green areas of the following map (from the U.S. Agricultural Research Service (ARS))

“Potential US Range Expansion of the Invasive Fire Ant”:

So what are you looking for? 

First, they do look like ants…
Past this, the identifying characteristics you’ll find most useful don’t require a magnifying glass.

 

Fire ant mounds don’t have a hole in the top. They are made of loose “fluffy” dirt and often appear after it rains.

If you dig into the mound you find white things—eggs, larvae, and pupae: the next generation. Don’t dig into the mound on purpose…

Fire ants are very aggressive. If disturbed, hundreds will swarm out of the mound and run up anything in sight, ready to attack whatever caused the disturbance.

They attack with both ends—holding on with their mouth while jabbing repeatedly with their stingers.

The stings burn and itch. Some people have allergic reactions (just like with wasps). After a day or two, a white pustule develops at each point where the ant stung. These wounds can become infected.

Another characteristic that you may see is a variation in size within the same colony. They’re all fire ants though.

Last week I tuned in on a webinar on Fire Ants. It was an action packed hour that covered the basics of fire ants in the U.S. and how to manage them. If you have the time, I encourage you to watch the recorded version at https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p78647148

My summary:

Fire ant management is about early detection and rapid response.

Winged queens can blow in and set up shop at any time, so have grounds crew and residents keep an eye out. Use the newsletter article below to recruit residents to help out. If you find fire ants, hire a pest management professional (PMP) to get rid of them.

The only home remedy that works is to pour three gallons of boiling water on the mound. But this usually doesn’t get down deep enough to kill the queen (will kill about 60% of the ants). Grits don’t work—the adult ants don’t eat solid food!

If treatment is necessary, there are lots of options. Researchers are even looking into using a little fly that lays its egg in ants. This parasitizing makes the ants’ heads pop off. How cool is that?! (This fly is in the previous picture by Alex Wild.)

Experts recommend the “Two-Step Method”

1. Have a PMP do periodic broadcast application of fire ant bait. Not too much and not too often. 1-1.5 lbs per acre. This gets you 80-90% control.

2. Treat individual mounds that pop up with a dust, liquid, or granular. The key to these applications is to get the pesticide to the queen(s).

Professionals should know what they’re doing, but a few things to keep in mind while you’re doing quality assurance of the broadcast bait application:

The PMP should:

• Make sure ants are foraging at the time of application. Test this by putting out a little pile of bait (or a chip) and see if it’s covered in ants or gone after 45 minutes. Fire ants forage at 60-90 F in the late afternoon or evening.
• Use fresh bait.
• And apply bait when there will not be any rain or watering for 12 hours.

Good luck with these bugs! They’re nasty.

For more information, visit
fireant.tamu.edu or www.extension.org/pages/13484/fire-ant

----------Sample newsletter article:-------------

Fire ants will bite and sting. 
Protect yourself. Protect your kids.

• Steer clear of ant mounds that are made of loose, fluffy dirt and don’t have a hole in the top.
• Wear shoes or boots and tuck pant legs into socks.
• Use insect repellent, but this won’t work for attacking ants.
• Treat stings with an insect bite remedy that deadens pain and protects against infection.

If you see a fire ant mound, call XXX-XXXX so we can call a professional. Grits, cleaning chemicals, and gasoline won’t work! 

Comments

[Jennifer Miller]

Where can red ant mounds be found (besides geographic location)? Always in dirt or in sand as well? And away from water sources? Just curious because I have definitely come across these guys in California!

[Allie]

Thanks to entomologist Drs. Fudd Graham and Mike Merchant for helping me with this response!

Red imported fire ants are not widely established yet in So. Cal, but as far as I know are in parts of Orange and L.A. counties, and in the Palm Springs area. They prefer disturbed areas (read almost any human modified landscape) in sunny locations. They are rarely found nesting in deep woods or other shady locations. Colonies are usually outdoors, but occasionally may be found under buildings or even in wet roofs, or walls. They like water (they are from flood plains originally) but do not put the mounds in wet areas.

You can find the counties in CA affected at the link below by clicking on the overlays for Biological Records of IFA, USDA quarantined counties, and additional state quarantines (or just turn off overlays for potential ranges).

http://maps.acesag.auburn.edu/Imported_Fire_Ant_US_Distribution/

[Emily Cassell]

Your blog is very informative. It has a plenty of information. It is very useful for the readers. I will check this out. Thank you for the information. Keep it up.

Rodent Control

[miami beach apartments]

This blog is very much interesting. It includes lot of information to know more things happening today.

[John]

I never thought that ants could be so aggressive and can attack people. Thank you. Nice blog and useful information.