Fire ants on the move in TN [Archive]

steve hiker

01-30-2005, 02:07

On the way back from my last hike I saw this big MFing fire ant hill on Hwy. 64/74 near the TVA facility. They're invading places they've never been before. If you see a conical shaped hill of fine dirt, watch out.

http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/regulate/plants/tnifa_quar.jpg

http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/regulate/plants/tnifaq04.pdf

Brushy Sage

01-30-2005, 12:30

Thanks for the warning. Which way are they migrating (south to north, west to east)? Does anyone know what their geographic, or climatic limitations are?

steve hiker

01-30-2005, 21:20

This is freaky. Compare the first map below with the second. The first map, which is several years old, projects the maximum range based on climate. Fire ants, being from tropical South America, supposedly can't take a cold climate.

Then look at the 2004 infestation map. They've already advanced beyond the projected maximum range in parts of the east. They were also accidentally trucked into California a few years ago and have spread like wildfire there.

Projected max range:
http://fireant.tamu.edu/maps/futureinfest.jpg

2004 infestation map:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/rifa/html/english/facts/rifaTIME.htm

orangebug

01-30-2005, 22:17

I could have sworn I saw these buggers up above Hot Springs last June. I wondered about it, because I also saw several nests of black ants. Around Atlanta and B'ham, as soon as the Fire Ant moved in, first the red ant and then the black ant left town.

TakeABreak

01-31-2005, 00:58

Try this link out for more info. on fire ants, www.dpi.qld.gov.au/fireants/ (http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/fireants/)

Also, this is what I remember from Conservation of Natural resources I took a year ago.

Fire ants, are originally from South America, it is believe they came here via lumber being cut down in the rain forest and shipped here, to the georgia / florida area, they prefer hot wet area like the rain forest, they were in the U.S. for many years before they got a colony going, then all of a sudden about 5 years, they started moving like mad, spreading west, east and north, it is thought that they "probably" will not migrate further north than TN / VA line, because of the colder climate. Not who knows how they will really adapt.

Tater

01-31-2005, 02:24

Looks like they're in Maryland and Delaware, according to the 2004 map. Pretty near Harper's Ferry.

MadAussieInLondon

01-31-2005, 05:49

apperntly they are found down home in australia too. id like to see these buggers go up against our bullants. australia is chockloaded with ants from tasty green ants (they eat only sugar so they are liquid sugar pods! yum).

did i say, apart from snakes and spiders our ants are also killers? jackjumpers have a venemous bite...

the scary bit is, you can run em over with the car and they walk away unscathed, they are tough little tanks.. usually about 1.5 inches long... BIG..

http://www.ento.csiro.au/ecowatch/Primary/hymenoptera/pages/bulldog.htm

i dont recally seeing many ants on the trail, we did find some who found our hung foodbag... =) saw more yellowjackets and such than anything.

Flash Hand

01-31-2005, 15:43

While doing practice hike in the desert behind our place in Queen Creek, Arizona. I saw many colonies around. Its countless. Everything and everyone is growing every year, so do fire ants.

Flash Hand

Todd Kirkendol

01-31-2005, 17:50

If these ants decide your yard is a nice place to set up shop, here is a cheap and easy way to kill em. Pour a pack of instant grits on top of the mound. The workers will carry the small pieces of grits down to the queen. The queen will eat the grits and they will cause her to swell and explode (similar to feeding a bird Alka-Seltzer). Once the queen is dead, the rest of the colony will die within a few days.

Dances with Mice

01-31-2005, 21:56

saimyoji

01-31-2005, 22:48

(similar to feeding a bird Alka-Seltzer)

http://www.enviroliteracy.org/asktheexpert.php/49.html

Todd Kirkendol

02-01-2005, 10:18

I stand corrected. Sorry, I was just trying to be helpful.

Jaybird

02-01-2005, 10:23

HELL, where have u been?

FIre ants have been in TN for years now.

ALso, now we're seeing ARMADILLOS in TN....

dont let those scare u when you see them scurrying across the trail! :D
hehehehehehehehe

Dances with Mice

02-01-2005, 10:45

I stand corrected. Sorry, I was just trying to be helpful.

No problem. Instant grits will kill Southerners though, or at least many would rather die than eat them. But if you give a pack to fire ants they'll just kick down your door for seconds.

Tim Rich

02-01-2005, 10:52

Growing up in central Alabama in the late sixties and seventies, they were already there and just part of my experiences. "Ants in your pants" means a whole lot more when they're fire ants. We control them with powdered poison (I believe it's Ortho brand) that gets tracked through the colony. I apply that to any that pop up in the yard, and I apply them to any colonies I find in the woods surrounding my home. If left alone, they do build huge mounds, but I've found that regular treatments can almost eliminate them from an area, and I've done this with areas as large as four or five acres.

Fire ants, like kudzu, can be controlled and effectively eliminated if you're determined. Left to run, they can ruin the functionality of land.

Take Care,

Tim

Bolo

02-01-2005, 13:33

We're more concerned about the Nutria invasion in South Carolina, currently moving east. These huge rodents are destroying swampland vegetation. Fire ants, we just itch and tolerate.

Newb

02-08-2005, 11:35

The rise in the population and range of armadillos is directly related to the spread of fireants. Armadillos LOVE fireant nests. The fireants cant hurt the little armored armadillos, but the armadillo slurps up the the fireant eggs like caviar. So, at least the Fireants have one predator out there to fear.
If you see one of those possums on the half shell be happy, he's doing us a favor.

Armadillo joke: Why did the chicken cross the road?
To show the Armadillo that it could be done.

boarstone

03-11-2009, 20:42

For those of us who are unfamiliar: I've been reading up on this "FireAnt " issue but haven't seen anything since 2005, being assured it's still an "issue", has any one seen any presence of them on the trail since? What precautions should one take while hiking/camping? What state are they the most prominent in, in relation to where the AT goes thru?

halibut15

03-11-2009, 23:21

Saw mounds in Hogpen Gap (well over 3,000 feet) in GA this summer. First time I've seen them at that elevation...:eek:

boarstone

03-12-2009, 10:34

I found this link to a U.S. map showing who/where those little buggers are causing the most problems...
www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/rifa.shtml:eek:

ki0eh

03-12-2009, 11:28

Your emoticon got too close to the link! Try

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/rifa.shtml

then

:eek:

Pedaling Fool

03-12-2009, 11:33

Saw mounds in Hogpen Gap (well over 3,000 feet) in GA this summer. First time I've seen them at that elevation...:eek:
I made a comment in an earlier thread about seeing fireants on bike trips along the coast as far north as NC, but never seeing fireants in the appalachians. I guess I was wrong.

leeki pole

03-12-2009, 11:38

We've got tremendous amounts of fire ants here in Mississippi. Here's a couple of funny things about them. When it gets dry, they go deep to ground. During the drought last year we had nary a mound on the back 40. Also, we used to have yellow jackets by the thousands starting about August. They nest in the ground and I haven't hit a nest on my mower or bushog for 4 or 5 years. Used to, I'd get stung pretty regularly come late summer or early fall. Fire ants are a pest, but controllable. Maybe this is the South's revenge for the war of Northern aggression.:D

Newb

03-12-2009, 11:55

if you drive through South Georgia it looks like an alien landscape. The fireant mounds are ubiquitous.

boarstone

03-12-2009, 19:56

Your emoticon got too close to the link! Try

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/rifa.shtml

then

:eek:

Hey, thanks, I noticed it too late to correct. :o

mister krabs

03-13-2009, 09:10

We're more concerned about the Nutria invasion in South Carolina, currently moving east. These huge rodents are destroying swampland vegetation.

Eat 'em. (http://www.nutria.com/site14.php)

or Make them into hats. (http://www.nutria.com/site6.php)

Think of the bright side. Properly managed, they could be a renewable resource that provides organically raised meat, natural goods and jobs.