'Nasty' red imported fire ants make appearance in Delaware

They're red and they're nasty.

That's how the red imported fire ant, a species that has been causing pain and creating havoc in the southern United States for many years, has been described by experts.

Delaware hasn't experienced their unique pain yet and the state Department of Agriculture would like to keep it that way. 

But on Monday, the department announced that some of them had hitched a ride to Sussex County in a shipment of palm trees from Florida.

The tiny fireballs were detected during a routine check at a Sussex County business by the Delaware Department of Agriculture's Plant Industries nursery inspection team, the department reported.

A Hold and Control Order was promptly issued, and a treatment program to eliminate them is underway, officials said.

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"Buyers of tropical nursery stock – such as palm trees – should carefully inspect their plants for small, aggressive red stinging ants," said Stephen Hauss, cooperative agricultural pest survey coordinator for the department. "We need these to be reported quickly and promptly to keep them from spreading or staying in Delaware over the winter."

Red imported fire ants are small, not even a half inch long, and red to reddish-brown. Mounds of them can reach 18 inches high and 3 feet across and have no visible external opening, unlike ant hills.

Worker ants can sting repeatedly and will attack anything that disturbs their mounds or food sources. Stings are very painful, and venom from a fire ant attack can cause a variety of symptoms in humans and animals.

Fire ant mounds can even be found in garages or in crawlspaces. If these mounds are disturbed, fire ants will race to the top and surround and sting whatever is disturbing their nest. To avoid fire ants, avoid their mounds, authorities say.

They are sensitive to vibration or movement. For example, if they race up a person’s leg and one ant stings and the victim jerks or moves. This movement triggers the other ants to sting in response.

The venom causes small blisters to form within a day and these little pustules can easily become infected.

Red imported fire ants are extremely territorial and will attack anyone that comes near their nest. They are responsible for countless emergency room visits every year, and these highly organized ants will work together to attack. Those who wander too close to a nest often suffer numerous stings from multiple fire ants in just a matter of seconds.

According to ExtensionDaily from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Alabama A&M and Auburn universities, an Alabama woman died in 2016 of anaphylactic shock after sustaining numerous fire ant stings.

Allergic reactions to fire ant bites are rare, but require immediate medical attention.

Preventing the spread

A federal quarantine is in place for fire ants in parts or all of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Puerto Rico, covering more than 367 million acres.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture only allows shipments of nursery stock from quarantined states with an inspection certificate.

Faith Kuehn, the federal department's plant industries administrator, said in a release that anyone who travels in those states should not bring plants or plant material back into Delaware that has not been properly inspected and plants should be accompanied by a state inspection certificate. Nurseries or other vendors should check each shipment received for the proper credentials and inspection certificates.

"We are urging caution on all fronts because of the ability of fire ants to spread quickly and the danger they pose," Kuehn said. "We have had good luck so far keeping the red imported fire ant from becoming established in Delaware, but that depends on prompt reporting and inspections."

If red imported fire ants were to become established in the state, their aggressive habits would have a negative impact on a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities, state officials said. 

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.