Risk level: moderate to high (painful stings; dangerous for allergic individuals). Imported fire ants are one of the most disliked yard pests across Leon and Wakulla County, and for good reason.
How to identify them
- Size & color: small, reddish-brown to dark; workers vary in size within one colony.
- Mounds: dome-shaped dirt mounds with no obvious central hole, in sunny, open areas — lawns, along driveways, near sidewalks.
- Behavior: highly aggressive when the mound is disturbed; they swarm up and sting in unison.
Why they matter
The sting produces a burning sensation and a characteristic white pustule that can last days. For people with sting allergies, a mass-stinging event is a medical emergency. Mounds in a yard where children or pets play are a genuine hazard, and fire ants can also damage electrical equipment they nest in.
What to do
Individual mound treatments knock down what you see, but fire ants readily relocate and rebuild, and hitting a mound with the wrong product can cause it to split into several. Effective control combines yard-wide bait (which foragers carry back to the queen) with mound treatment. See our ant control service, or book a free inspection.
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