FIRE ANTS

Fire Ants The Invasive Species

Method of Invasion: The red fire ant was accidently introduced to the United States in 1929, when a cargo ship that had used soil based ballast arrived in Mobile, Alabama.

Originally from: South America especially Brazil. Still today they continue to spread all over the world like U.S., Australia, Taiwan, Philippines, and China

Ants have been digging through the dirt for billions of years. Tunneling out of jungles and forests and into back yards of humans on every continent except Antarctica. They can threaten sleeping individuals and pets. Occasionally they feed on vegetable plants in home gardens. The worst damage usually occurs during hot, dry weather when they invade flowerbeds while seeking warmth and moisture. If disturbed, fire ants bite and sting the intruder. The FDA estimates that more than $5 billion is spent annually on medical treatment, damage, and control in fire ant-infested areas. Further, the ants cause approximately $750 million in damage to agricultural related things. Including vet bills, crop loss, and livestock loss.

Control of fire ants has been best acheived through pesticides but some researchers have brought the fire ants predator from South America, the Phorid Fly. These flies feed on fire ants and effectively exterminate colonies. Other methods such as lowering the colonies soil temperature by using liquid nitrogen has also worked great to help control the population size of fire ants.