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Once free of these pests, we now have a fire ant invasion

A fire ant mound in the front yard of the Henderson County Courthouse on Grove Street.

By STEVE PETTIS N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, Published: June 2, 2024

Fire ants are the scourge of summer fun in many areas of the southeastern U.S.

I grew up in middle Georgia running around my grandmother’s farm and had fire ants in my diapers as a kid. Attracted to electricity, fire ants used to short out our well circuitry and we would be without water. Fire ants would get into our hay bales, flower beds, gardens and barns and could even kill a newborn calf. The impact that these invasive creatures have on our natural and human environment is immeasurable. 

As an adult working as an extension agent in Georgia, I answered hundreds of questions about fire ants over the years. I have always despised these creatures and was SO happy when I moved to western North Carolina and found that we had no fire ants.
 

The fire ant cometh

Unfortunately the ants are showing up in Henderson County more frequently with each passing year. In the time that I have lived locally I have found them in parking lots, parks and roadsides. I have found them on power line right of ways and construction sites. How do they get here? The ants hitch rides on cars, equipment and soil from places like South Carolina, Georgia and Florida where the ants are already established.

How do you know if you have fire ants in your yard? The mounds are unmistakable. Fire ants build tall mounds from the soil that they excavate from underground. The ants use the verticality of the nest to moderate temperatures for their larvae.

Fire ants look unfriendly, with red bodies and big pinchers. If disturbed, they swarm frantically. Finally, if they sting you, it feels like someone putting out a match on your skin. 

Fire ants can seriously injure toddlers who wander into a nest. Keep children away from mounds as the ants can swarm small children and sting them many times. If you or a loved one has an allergic reaction to the sting, you should seek medical assistance. Anti itch creams and anti inflammatory/allergy medicines are good to keep on hand in case of insect stings.

Life cycle

Fire ants excavate soil, creating nests underground covered by a mound. The tunnels they create underground house the queen who generates countless eggs. The eggs are cared for by workers and moved up and down vertically in the nest depending on soil temperature. The eggs pupate into workers who can travel up to 300 feet away from the nest to harvest food. Ants will eat anything from plants to animals living or dead. In the spring mounds will sometimes create winged ants who will fly away to start new colonies.

Controlling fire ants

Homeowners, gardeners and property managers should treat every ant mound they see. There are two ways to control fire ants; individual insecticidal mound treatments and broadcasting insecticidal baits. Powdered insecticides such as acephate can be used to treat individual mounds. When broadcast over an entire property, fire ant bait will be picked up by fire ant workers and kill all the nests on site.

The old Texas “Two-Step Method” uses both baits and mound treatment and is highly effective. One places the bait out around a mound then waits about 5-7 days. Then, an insecticide is applied to the mound. Finally, call the Henderson County Extension Office at 828-697-4891 to learn more and to report sightings.

When I moved here I never saw fire ant mounds. Now I see them more often. Hopefully, if everyone stays vigilant and treats every mound they see, then maybe we can avoid these beasts from becoming established here in Henderson County. 

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Steve D. Pettis is commercial and consumer horticulture agent for the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service. Contact him at steve_pettis@ncsu.edu or 828-697-4891.