With more and more fire ant mounds popping up in suburban areas during the warming spring months, it might make you wonder, ”Where did all these little guys come from?”

After the first fire ants entered the United States through Mobile, Ala. in the early 1900’s, they have been in mostly southern rural areas of the country. Much to the surprise of some suburbanites, fire ants also are popping up in their neighborhoods too.   

One of the largest contributing factors to fire ants moving into suburban areas is the advent of new developments.  The building materials used to build housing developments are brought in from other parts of the country. Something as small as a fire ant can hide with pieces of lumber and other equipment needed for construction. Essentially, the ants freeload their way into new locations.

Once in an area, fire ants are extremely tough to get rid of because of their ability to reproduce in rapid numbers and excellent survival skills (check out other blog postings if you want to learn more on either)

The only way to get rid of them for sure is to spread Over ‘n Out® Fire Ant Killer over your lawn and watch the pest control take care of the rest.