Fire ants were imported to the Northern area of the United States from the Southern region. Moreover, they adapted to their new location, and Northern areas flooded with these aggressive ant colonies over time.
Why Are Fire Ants Called Fire Ants? Fire ants are called fire ants due to their reddish or brownish appearance that resembles the color of fire. Moreover, it forms reddish swollen spots and itchy blisters on the skin that look like burnt skin. In addition, you can relate the burning sensation caused by fire ants to the one after burning the skin by fire. Furthermore, they are aggressive and release venom when intruders try to interfere in their mounds.
Knowing about the nature of ants and ways to identify them to get rid of these aggressive insects having strong jaws is essential.
Furthermore, these can make you feel drowsy by piercing the skin tissues and causing severe pain.
What are fire ants and their types?
It is also known as a thief ant, which was accidentally introduced in the United States. They are almost 2 to 4mm long and responsible for stinging and biting.
You can see these tiny insects in your house as they are roaming everywhere and keep searching for a food source. They appear reddish or brownish in color and have six legs and two antennae on their head.
Moreover, they prefer to live in a sunny area so you can see their mounds where sunlight can reach them directly that appear dome-shaped.
Their colony contains multiple colonies and focuses on increasing the number if their mounds are not disturbed by intruders.
They have two common types based on their color; red and black fire ants. The red ones are more notorious and appear reddish brown.
Furthermore, they are introduced into new locations through shrubs and plants. However, the black fire ants have a different lifestyle or habitat and contain more content water in their bodies.
These appear dark brown to black in color, and their mounds can reach almost 1.5 to 2 feet in diameter. They are responsible for more painful stings that can form white pustules.
Why are fire ants known as fire ants?
There are many reasons for fire ants to be known by these names, including their appearance and the symptoms of a bite by these insects.
Physical appearance
These ants appear red or brown in color, making them similar to a fire. You can identify them due to their prominent body color.
Moreover, a circular pattern forms on the affected area that looks like a burnt area due to redness and swelling.
You will have the same feeling after getting a sting from these insects, like a burnt hand, when you have touched something hot.
Redness of the skin
The skin gets red on a specific area where fire ants penetrate their stingers. It appears reddish due to extreme pain in the skin tissues.
Multiple stings can form many small red patches on the affected skin, making it challenging to tolerate extreme pain.
Moreover, fire flames look yellowish or reddish in color and form red swollen spots on the skin that can turn into blisters and look the same as those formed after a sting of ants.
Burning bite
You can feel a burning sensation on your body after it bites or pulls off the skin using pinchers.
They can initiate a series of reactions in the body that can lead to localized pain and anaphylaxis. This burning sensation resembles the tissue damage after burning due to flames.
Moreover, the stingers and pinchers can hold the skin tissues tightly to maintain a grip. After that, they will forcefully pull the tissues and cause a wound.
It leads to a painful feeling, making it difficult to tolerate the pain as it seems like skin burning.
Aggressive nature
Fire ants have aggressive nature, as they can quickly lose their temper if someone tries to interfere in their mound.
Moreover, they can bite a predator when it tries to attack or threaten them. The worker ants protect their nest and never tolerate disturbance to their colony.
It is better to move carefully around their mounds because they can crawl and climb on your limbs within a few seconds if you mistakenly disrupt their colony.
Furthermore, they will not spare you and bite to show their aggressive behavior for your unkind behavior.
Forms itchy blisters
You have to suffer from itchy blisters that are formed under the epidermal layer of the skin and filled with watery liquid.
In addition, they appear as pimple-like marks but get severe over time and take almost 1 to 2 weeks to disappear.
It is completely normal to get an itchy lump on the affected surface that can get better in 40 to 50 minutes or aggravates to form fluid-filled blisters.
It can be filled with pus or a watery fluid that is itchy. Furthermore, larger reactions are also associated with a fire ant bite that can make your whole limb swell.
Ant venom
They release a venom that is injected into the wound after a sting. This venom is of an alkaloid nature that is responsible for white pustules leading to severe pain.
Almost 97% to 99% of the venom contains alkaloids, while the remaining portion contains small molecules and proteins.
Furthermore, it is estimated that these can release almost 10 to 15 drops of the poisonous material from a poison gland in one second, which can cause neurotoxicity in the wounded region.
How to get rid of fire ants?
You can get rid of fire ants’ attacks by maintaining a proper distance from the mounds because they will not bite you when you do not interfere with their activities.
Moreover, cover the body by wearing protective clothing when going closer to their colony as they can climb on your legs and bite the skin.
It is better to apply insect repellant on the body before entering the garden, as many fire ants roam on the ground and walls.
In addition, control an ant population before it aggravates and becomes difficult to control. For example, you can seal the entryways of these insects by fixing the broken seals of windows and pipelines.
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