Fire ants weren't always a Hampton Roads problem. They've been spreading northward from the Southeast for decades, and they're now well established throughout Virginia — including all of Hampton Roads. If you've found a mound in your yard in the last few years, you're not imagining things. They're here, and their range is expanding.
How to Identify Fire Ants
Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) are small — about an eighth to a quarter inch — reddish-brown, and aggressive when disturbed. Their mounds are distinctive: dome-shaped, up to a foot tall in established colonies, with no central opening at the top (they enter from tunnels around the base). If you disturb the mound, hundreds of workers swarm out immediately and begin stinging. Unlike bees, fire ants can sting repeatedly. The sting produces an immediate burning sensation — hence the name — followed by a white pustule that forms within 24 hours.
Why They're Common After New Construction
We get a lot of fire ant calls from neighborhoods with recent construction nearby — Kiln Creek and Lees Mill in Newport News, Harbour View in Suffolk, new developments throughout James City County and Chesapeake. When ground is cleared for construction, established fire ant colonies get disrupted. The queen relocates, and colonies spread into adjacent residential properties. If you've noticed fire ants in your yard after nearby construction started, that's almost certainly where they came from.
What Works — and What Doesn't
The most effective fire ant treatment is a two-step approach: broadcast bait applied to the entire yard, followed by individual mound treatment for visible colonies. The broadcast bait is slow-acting — workers carry it back to the queen, and the colony dies out over two to four weeks. Mound treatments work faster but only kill what's in that mound. If you skip the broadcast bait and only treat mounds, you'll eliminate visible colonies but miss the ones that haven't surfaced yet.
Pouring boiling water on mounds — a popular DIY approach — kills some workers but rarely reaches the queen deep in the colony. It also damages grass. Gasoline is both ineffective and dangerous. Club soda doesn't work. If the product doesn't contain an active ingredient with proven fire ant efficacy, it's not doing the job.
Kids, Pets, and Fire Ant Safety
Children and pets are at higher risk from fire ant stings because they're more likely to stumble onto a mound without recognizing the threat, and because they're smaller. Multiple stings can produce a serious reaction, and people with allergies to fire ant venom can experience anaphylaxis. If you have kids or dogs who spend time in the yard and you've found fire ant mounds, treat them promptly. Don't wait to see if more appear.
We treat fire ants as part of our quarterly residential pest control program throughout Hampton Roads. If you have an active fire ant problem, give us a call — we'll assess the yard, treat existing colonies, and set up a program to keep them from re-establishing.