Spring is just a few weeks away, and out of all of the pests that can give you headaches and pains in the Plano area, Fire Ants are arguably the worst of all. Most of the stings from fire ants cause painful, itchy bumps, worse than that of mosquito bites. Fire ants generally have over 200,00 workers inside of the ant mound (colony) this along with their primary senses being touch and smell makes them so easy to disturb the moment the ant mound has anything come in contact with it.
In response to the venom from the fire ant sting, your affected area will begin to swell up within a couple of minutes. This will look very similar to a mosquito bite in most cases or even a pimple… But do NOT pop it, as it will likely lead to scarring in the affected area.
Believe it or not, fire ants have not always been in the Plano area. They are actually native to South America, and were introduced to the US in Mobile, Alabama between 1933-1942 and have quickly migrated across the southern states in the US. When they began to sweep across the south, the response was you guessed it, spraying chemicals across many acres across the south. Not only did this hurt a lot of the livestock in the country at the time, but it also killed a lot of native ant species… But not the fire ants! This allowed the fire ants to spread even quicker than before.
In Texas we have learned that many of the queen fire ants have a gene in them that makes them less territorial. This allows for multiple colonies to be very close to one another which also leads to the continual rise in fire ants across the Plano, TX area. It is estimated that fire ants cause over $6,000,000,000 in damages, from damaging golf courses, to damaging electrical equipment where their fire mounds are built.
As of 2022 there are only a few chemicals available to pest control companies that help eliminate fire ant colonies from Plano, TX homes. The good news is these chemicals provide fire ant relief for about 12 months. So it is a good idea to have a yearly fire ant treatment completed on your lawn, that way you and your loved ones can get back to having fun outdoors without the constant worry of fire ant sings ruining your fun. If you live in the Plano, TX and surrounding areas, feel free to give us a call at Preferred Pest Management to prevent your yard from falling victim to the next fire ant infestation.
