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Red imported fire ant workers
Fire ants with queen











Red imported fire ant worker











Images from Texas A&M University web site at:
http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/graphics/photo/phototxt.html

Fire ant sizes
Fire ants onboot






Fire Ant National Distribution Map


The notorious Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopis invicta), the American South's "ant from hell," was accidentally introduced into the port of Mobile, Alabama, sometime in the 1930's. Its native range is northern Argentina and southern Brazil, and the first immigrant colonies probably made their ways north as stowaways on cargo ships. The species then spread throughout the southern United States and California, where today its vast populations of fiercely stinging workers make it a major pest.

They can and quickly do latch onto your flesh with barbed mandibles and sting repeatedly, pivoting in tiny circles until you, the victim can repel them or dies. The venom burns like a hot match and causes tiny blisters that persist for days if left untreated or for weeks of scratched or infected. They can quickly destroy your worm populations.

Fire Ant Control
Dilute 1/4 cup orange oil to one gallon of water pour over the fire ants. Be very careful as this mixture kills plants & worms that naturally appear in soil.

Mix equal parts of sugar, flour and boric acid or borax - sprinkle around the house and yard and watch the ants eat and haul it off to their queens... in a few days you will see little brown balls where the ants USED TO BE...it's the now-deceased queen and her entire now-deceased colony balled around here... they come up out of the ground and die. READ THE BORAX/BORIC ACID LABELS CAREFULLY and be careful with children and pets.

Also see Ant
Further Reading

More control methods for fire ants.
http://www.safe2use.com/pests/fireants/ipmsummary.htm

Fire ant problem spreads.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/graphics/science/fireant.htm

Fire Ant article by Howard Garett
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/article.asp?id=216

Fire Ant Images at Texas A&M University http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/graphics/photo/photo4.html

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