Fire Ants

Fire Ants: (Size=1/8 to 1/3 inch)
They're the most common and destructive of the ants in the United States, and they're common in all of the southern states. Along both coasts they've moved as far north as southern Oregon and the Chesapeake Bay.

These pests make large conical nests as large as 18 inches in diameter and 10 inches high. If disturbed they attack aggressively, stinging the intruder. They also feed on germinating seeds, young shoots, fruits, and saplings. Like other ants, they nurse aphids on plants, protecting the pests from predators in order to obtain their sweet excrement (honeydew).

Fire ant adults are reddish to dark brown. Winged, reproductive forms appear in the spring and early summer. After mating, the male dies and the female establishes a new colony. Her first eggs hatch in a week, and the resulting worker ants mature in less than a month. A queen can live several years, producing over 1,500 eggs per day.

Controls:
Natural enemies of fire ants have been tested for mass release for control of the ants in large areas, and progress is being made. Biological control agents include Beauvaria basisanna, a natural fungus disease that attacks them, and beneficial nematodes.

Pouring boiling water on individual mounds is effective in small areas.

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