Fire ants are one of those Florida pests that are hard to ignore. For homeowners in Beverly Hills and throughout Citrus County, our warm weather and residential landscapes can provide plenty of opportunities for fire ants to establish colonies. You may first notice a mound in the lawn, but sometimes the first sign is the painful sting you get after accidentally stepping too close to a colony.
Red imported fire ants are aggressive, can establish colonies throughout lawns and landscaped areas, and don't always build the large, obvious mounds homeowners expect.
Here's what Florida homeowners should know about fire ants around their property.
What Do Fire Ants Look Like?
Red imported fire ants range from reddish-brown to nearly black and are generally about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long.
One thing that makes a fire ant colony particularly noticeable is how aggressively the ants respond when you disturb their nest.
Unlike ants that may scatter when disturbed, fire ants can quickly come out of the nest in large numbers and attack whatever they perceive as a threat.
That's why it's a good idea to be cautious around a suspected fire ant mound rather than disturbing it to see what's inside.
Where Do Fire Ants Live?
Most people associate fire ants with the dirt mounds they build in lawns.
While fire ants can create large, noticeable mounds, Florida's sandy soil means their nests don't always produce the big mounds you might see in areas with heavier, clay-based soil. That can make a colony easier to overlook.
Fire ants are particularly common in well-maintained lawns and landscapes, but they can also establish nests around:
- Trees and stumps
- Sidewalks and pavement
- Buildings
- Landscaping
- Other protected areas around a property
This is especially important in areas like Beverly Hills, where fire ant colonies may show up in lawns, landscaped areas, around driveways and sidewalks, or near trees and other areas of the property.
They have even been known to establish themselves around electrical equipment and utility housings, where their activity can potentially cause electrical problems and short circuits.
So if you're seeing fire ants but can't find the classic mound in the middle of the yard, that doesn't necessarily mean the colony isn't nearby. In flooded conditions, fire ants can even form living "rafts" or islands out of their own bodies to float on water and protect the colony until they find dry land.
What Do Fire Ants Eat?
Fire ants aren't especially picky eaters.
They're omnivores, meaning they eat a variety of foods. Their diet can include sugars and fruits as well as insects, meat, grease, and oils.
Their attraction to oils is one reason many fire ant baits are oil-based.
Fire ant workers can also travel surprisingly far looking for food. Foraging workers may travel more than 100 feet from their nest.
That means the ants you see around your patio, driveway, or another part of the property aren't necessarily nesting right next to where you found them.
When a worker finds a good food source, other ants can be recruited to help collect it and bring it back to the colony.
When Are Fire Ants Most Active?
Fire ants can forage day and night.
They're generally more active when temperatures are between about 70°F and 90°F, which gives them plenty of opportunities to forage in Florida's warm climate.
During the hottest parts of the day, above-ground activity may be less noticeable.
That's another reason the number of ants you happen to see at one moment doesn't necessarily tell you how large the colony is.
Why Spraying the Ants You See Doesn't Solve the Problem
One of the biggest mistakes with fire ants is focusing only on the workers walking around above ground.
At any given time, only about 20% of a fire ant colony may be out foraging.
That means spraying the ants you see can kill some workers without addressing most of the colony hidden underground.
The mound you see is only the visible portion of a much larger problem.
Effective fire ant control needs to target the colony, not just the individual ants walking across the lawn.
Why Are Fire Ants So Difficult to Eliminate?
Unfortunately, no treatment can permanently eliminate fire ants from an outdoor area.
Even after you control existing colonies, new fire ants can eventually move into the area.
That's why fire ant management is better thought of as ongoing control rather than a one-time permanent solution.
Professional approaches can include broadcast bait applications along with treatments directed at individual mounds. The appropriate approach depends on the property and the level of activity.
The important part is targeting the colony — not simply spraying the ants you happen to see.
Can Fire Ants Get Inside?
Although we usually think of fire ants as an outdoor problem, they can sometimes become an issue around structures and even indoor areas.
Keeping ants outside starts with making it harder for them to enter.
Doors and windows should seal properly, and seal gaps or openings ants can use to enter the structure when possible.
However, simply stopping the ants at an entry point doesn't eliminate an established colony elsewhere on the property. If fire ants keep showing up around or inside the home, you need to find and address the source.
Dealing With Fire Ants in Beverly Hills, Florida?
If you're finding fire ant mounds around your Beverly Hills property or seeing significant fire ant activity around your home, avoid disturbing the colonies unnecessarily.
Fire ants aren't just another ant crawling across the driveway. Their aggressive response to a disturbed nest and painful stings make proper identification and treatment especially important. That's why it's important to recognize the signs early and address the problem before it gets worse.
And remember: killing the workers you can see doesn't mean you've eliminated the colony hiding below ground.
Turbo Pest Solutions can inspect your property, identify fire ant activity, and determine the best approach to control colonies around your home. Call Turbo Pest Solutions at (352) 345-7572 or contact us today.
Learn more about our General Pest Control services, or see our Beverly Hills and Citrus County service area pages.