Areas Affected by Fire Ants

Fire ants are nasty, bad tempered little insects that have the horrible habit of being able to intimi08/06/13 creatures that are literally hundreds of times their size. In large part this is due to their extremely aggressive natures, and their exceptionally painful bites. While there are certain areas of the country that are traditional for fire ants, they have recently been seen expanding into new territory. As such, it only makes sense that people would be interested in knowing the areas affected by fire ants. Here is a bit of information about these creatures that can help you if you do find yourself living in areas affected by fire ants.

• Areas affected. In the United States fire ants can be primarily found in the South East region. This means that they can be found from Texas to Florida, and up through Georgia and into North Carolina. While there has been reports that fire ants are starting to spread into other states, but these are still fairly scattered and mostly along border areas.
• Behavior. In the simplest possible terms, fire ants are exceptionally territorial, and amazingly aggressive. This means that if they see or find some kind of trespasser in areas that they have claimed, they will go out of their way to get rid of them. When fire ants do attack, they typically do so by biting and stinging (yes, they have stingers), and using large overwhelming numbers at the same time.
• Impact. As has been described already, fire ants are exceptionally aggressive and territorial. This means that when they start moving into a new area they tend to have a fairly negative impact on the surrounding environment. Fire ants are what is known as an omnivore, which means that they will eat anything. Additionally, since they are so aggressive they will even go after, and drive off larger animals from reptiles, to birds, mammals, and even people.
• Control Methods. If you think that you have fire ants in your yard, there are a few things that you can do to help control or eliminate them. One of the more effective methods is to use a type of granular insecticide that is designed to attract, and kill, the ants. The ants will pick up the grains, take them back to the colony and then kill off the colony. Other methods you can use include things like pouring boiling water over the ant hill, or even pouring kerosene on it. However, you will want to be exceptionally careful if you use one of those methods since it is really easy to get hurt with them.

Remember, there are two methods that you can use which can be viewed as a little dramatic. The first, and more expensive than dramatic, method for dealing with fire ants is to hire a professional. Having a professional help exterminate fire ants can go a long way to reducing the risks posed by these insects. The second, and more dramatic, method is to remove yourself by moving to a new home. However, while this method will remove you from the problem it doesn't actually deal with the fire ants themselves.