Fire Ant Behavior

Ideal fire ant locations have dry, sunny and flat conditions. Typically, they build their nest mounds in the ground near landscape areas or structural foundations as loose earth is preferable for mound construction. At times, nests may appear as visible mounds that can grow to be larger than two feet in diameter and about seven to 12 inches high and can be dome-shaped.

Red fire ants are least active during the hottest hours of the day. They also avoid darkness and shade and are more likely to appear in open fields and lawns than in forests. They are resilient; the large mounds under which they form their colonies regulate the temperature of their tunnels, allowing them to survive severe drops in temperature. If mounds remain undisturbed and the colony rapidly multiplies, fire ants may send additional queens to begin new mounds nearby. Large colonies can have up to 250,000 workers. Very active and aggressive, they will sting any intruding animal repeatedly.