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| Photo Credit: Megan Bame |
| While the mound of dirt at the base of this tree may seem unassuming, it’s home to thousands of fire ants. |
The imported fire ant is native to South America and was brought to the US in the early 1900s. Cargo ships delivering goods to South America used soil from Brazil and Argentina as ballast for their return trip. The soil was unloaded in Mobile, AL, where fire ants were first identified as an exotic pest in the US.
It’s a common misconception that fire ants are large, red ants. But these are not fire ants. Imported fire ants actually closely resemble harmless, native, black ants. Most are 1/8-inch long, with the front portion of the body being a reddish-brown and the back portion a solid black. The key to identification is the fire ants’ unmistakable mound. In addition to being their home, the fire ants’ mound also serves as a battlefield, where these aggressive pests attack their unsuspecting victims. Those who aren’t familiar with fire ant mounds would assume the mound was just an exposed area of crusted-over soil. There’s no obvious entry hole like those found in native black ant mounds, and those built in clay are usually symmetrical and dome-shaped. Once you learn to recognize what a fire ant mound looks like, though, the red clay soil and the relatively large area a mound covers actually makes them easy to spot, even from a distance. Fire ant mounds are most often found in undisturbed locations such as the base of a tree, a flower bed or along the edge of a sidewalk, but they can also be found in the middle of a lawn. The pests themselves prefer warm, southern exposures and are most active when the temperature is between 70-85 degrees F. They’re still present in the heat of summer and chill of winter – they’ve simply retreated deep within the mound for a more moderate temperature during those times. Fire ants only attack if their mound is disturbed. To test a suspect mound, use a small stick or pencil to poke a single hole in the soil. Leave the stick in there, but hold it by the end. Native black ants are confused and unorganized if their mound is disturbed, so if, within seconds, you see ants climbing the stick and scurrying over the top of the mound, you’re witnessing the organized attack of fire ants. When that happens, be sure to release the stick before the ants reach your hand!
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