Fire ants have the potential of being the most destructive pests on the face of earth. Though they might not cause typical structure damage like the carpenter ants do, they are still a valid cause of concern. If you live in a part of the United States you probably have no cause to worry, but warmer areas of the US is now combating them. The US is home to four fire ant species, out ants of which the red imported fire ants are the most visible species, generally found in southeastern US states.
There is an alarming rise in these ants and they are spreading out all over the southern & southeastern regions of United States. Moreover, these ants have spread their tentacles as far as north of Maryland and to the west in California. Besides their bites being extremely painful to people, they have the potential to destroy crops and livestock and the damages can be to the tune of over $1 billion dollars annually.
Fire ant bite venom can cause allergic reactions so people need to be cautious. If you happen to set foot on their mound, you may be attacked and get bitten. We all react to the bites in a different manner, but these ants are more dangerous and have the tendency to cause more pain and misery than the common odorous kind of house ants or carpenter ants.
Fire Ants are more aggressive than your typical ants,
if you find a mound in your back-yard, it is advisable to leave it alone if you are not sure what to do. You may need to call an experienced pest control professional to eliminate the infestation. People usually can’t differentiate fire ants from other ants. Therefore, it becomes important to know what kind of ant species you are dealing with. For instance, if you see an ant mound in your back yard, just take a branch and poke the mound with it. Stick the branch in the mound and get away from it immediately. You will observe that if they are traditional ants they will move around quickly to protect their queen, but in case of aggressive fire ants they will soon retaliate and climb the branch to attack you if they find that you are a threat to their colony.
It’s a fact that the fire ants are capable of eating small animals such as mice, snakes & turtles too.
They have the tendency to aggressively destroy and eat plants and other crops as well. Therefore, the moment you realize that they made your backyard their home, it’s time to take some quick action and get some professional help from the experts at Hartz Pest Control to solve your Houston fire ant problem.