If you happen to live in one of the Southern United States you're as likely as not to have tasted the sting of a fire ant! At the least the sting burns you for three or four days and in the worst cases, fortunately rare, it may cost you your life. So if this fiery creature waylays you or yours, don't ever take it lightly and do rush to the doctor. And, now this is important, don't scratch, because that is sure to make it worse. Left to itself, the pustules and itch normally heal in half a week.
And it's not the sting alone. Among the many species of the insect, the so-called RIFA, red imported fire ant, is particularly troublesome. Around half the people in the infested regions suffer from RIFA bite in the course of a year. The annual losses in terms of medical treatment to humans and livestock and crop losses run into billions of dollars. For unexplained reasons, fire ants are attracted to electrical switchboards and installations, often causing short circuits. Japan, Taiwan and Phillipines are are also affected by this pandemic. Australia is one country which has managed to get rid of this problem, but at considerable cost.
What do I do if I identify RIFA mounds in my own backyard? The most common remedy is to use commercially available "baits" to treat the infested area and it's surroundings. These chemically will not kill the RIFA but will destroy their reproductive ability. It is best to plan the RIFA extermination project on a neighbourhood level to get long range results. An important point to remember is that there are good ants and bad ants, and in our desperation we should do nothing to exterminate the native ants, which are ecologically good.
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