Within one nest, adult workers can vary in size from 2-6mm. One disadvantage of broadcast treatments is that they can also disrupt other ant communities. Also, many pesticides are not labeled for use in fruit & vegetable gardens and around livestock and poultry. The new workers also expand the nest and gather food. Winged fire ant “swarmers” and wingless workers on a weeds near a mound. Send Explanation, We'll email you once a week with any new job opportunites in Extension. Apply the drench at a rate of approximately 1 gallon per 6 inches of mound diameter. Contact your county Cooperative Extension Center or consult the North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual for information on fire ant insecticides appropriate for use by the general public and by public health and pest management professionals. Outdoor trash cans around schools, parks, and other buildings should be emptied frequently during the day. If it weren’t for the painful experiences associated with fire ants, most people might find these creatures fascinating. The ants enter and leave the mound via underground tunnels which radiate outwards from the nest. Not all eggs are destined to become adults – some are eaten by nestmates for extra nourishment. In Texas, the average number of monogyne and polygyne mounds per hectare has been recorded at 300 and 680, respectively. Worker ants carry particles of the bait back to the mound and feed them to the “brood” (larvae or immature ants) and the queen. For information and assistance, contact the NCDA&CS. Although native fire ants are common urban pests, if they are controlled unnecessarily, especially in very dry climates, imported fire ants are more likely to invade these areas. NC State University Entomology extension faculty and staff work with county field faculty, growers, consultants, and the public across the state in solving insect problems through research based and environmentally sound practices. After 9-16 days, the newly developed ants emerge. Solid food, such as parts of insects, are given to 4th instar larvae. The oldest workers function as foragers, leaving the colony to search for food. For positive identification, take a specimen to your county Cooperative Extension Center. During the spring and summer, winged males and females leave the mound and mate in the air. Painful pus-filled lesions can also occur. Always read the product label to make sure that it is appropriate for the particular situation that you have. Fire Ant Museum of Control Methods and Products, Spanish: Materiales en Español sobre Hormigas Bravas Importadas, Herd Seeder Calibration Tables for Fire Ant Bait (PDF), Antweb, the world’s largest online database of images, specimen records, and natural history information on ants, Pest Ant resources from Rollins Urban and Structural Entomology Facility at Texas A&M University, Ants and Their Affinity for Electrical Utilities. They eat both plants and animals to satisfy their nutritional requirements. Thus, fire ants both bite and sting, but only the sting is responsible for the pain and pustule (Goddard 1996). Want to see which lists are available? mature colony producing alates within 6-12 months. If you break open an active fire ant mound, you typically find the “brood” – the small whitish larvae and pupae. The workers perform different jobs such as tending the queen and “brood”, maintaining the nest, and gathering food. One potential downside to using hot water is that it can damage/kill vegetation in the general vicinity and can be hazardous to the person carrying hot/boiling water over uneven terrain. Then, apply a liquid mound drench which should kill the remaining workers more quickly. Worker fire ants will attach to the skin using their mandibles and will subsequently lower the tip of the gaster to inject the stinger into the victim. After mating the male dies and the newly mated female sheds her wings and begins a new colony if an appropriate nest site is found. One limitation on the use of granular insecticides (not granular baits) is that most of them require water (either from rain or by irrigation) to be applied shortly after the application. Chemical Control Soil pushed up around an interior expansion joint of a house could mean fire ants have moved into a wall or subfloor void. Because fire ants can be spread in new landscape material such as shrubs, sod, wheat and pine straw, check these items carefully before you purchase them or have them installed.