|
|
|
Imported Fire Ants
Imported fire ants
How they got here
Imported fire ants first came to the United States around 1930. Seventy years later there are five times more ants per acre here in the States than in their native land of South America. Natural enemies of the fire ants keep in check most of the ants in South America. But the fire ants that came to the States escaped their natural enemies and thrived in the southern landscape. |
 |
 |
|
A crisis brews
Until now, the primary way to control fire ants has been to use insecticides. And the only way to maintain control has been to apply insecticides two to four times a year at a cost of at least $10 an acre for each treatment, Treating all infested land would cost $6 billion to $12 billion a year.
|
 |
| Because of the expense and perceived hazard of insecticide treatments, most landowners do nothing. Uncontrolled, fire ants have become serious pests. They damage crops, livestock, and electronics and sting people. By killing wildlife and even endangered species, they upset the ecological balance of nature. Fire ant losses total almost $6 billion a year in urban and agricultural areas.
|
Areawide Suppression of Fire Ants main menu
|
|
|
|
|
Last Modified: 03/19/2007
|
|
Printable Version
E-mail this page
