Fire ants are social insects that live in colonies of up to 500,000 members. They are native to South and Central America, but have been introduced all over the world.
The biggest threat that fire ants pose is their sting. They are aggressive, so they will almost always attack any creature they can sense near their colony. That includes humans, our pets and everything else. Once they attack, the victim is usually left with a painful wound, and if the person is allergic to the fire ant’s venom, they may enter anaphylactic shock. You can easily recognize fire ants by their red/reddish-brown coloration, and by their sting, if you are unfortunate enough to be attacked by one.
Why fire ants infest a property
During spring, reproductive ants will develop wings and form mating swarms. The swarmers will pair up, and then they will try to find a suitable location to build a new colony. Most fire ant colonies are started outdoors, but, like some other ant species, they will venture into the home to look for food. When they do set up in the home, they will go for areas with high humidity such as the kitchen, and they usually set up inside the home during the summer, when humidity is scarce outdoors.
How do you remove fire ants?
Fire ants are very territorial and aggressive, and they are known to quickly expand their colonies, making a small problem turn into a major one very quickly. They can be difficult to control using DIY methods, because of their aggression and painful sting, so calling over a pest control pro is the best course of action if you have a fire ant mound on your property. The pro will usually go with a direct control method using insecticide, which is applied to the mound. Fire ants will take the queen near the top of their colony during certain times of the day, and if an insecticide is applied to the colony in the right time frame, the queen will be poisoned and the colony will die off.
So getting rid of fire ants as soon as you notice the first one is essential, because they will grow in numbers and they make any area that they infest pretty much a no-go zone. If you suspect that you have a fire ant infestation, and you would like to get rid of it quickly, contact us today.
