They’re small, fast and painful. Fire ants are out and about again in East Tennessee.
Although they may not be in everyone's yard, Brian Smith from Russell’s Pest Control says people should still be aware of the ants as they are ready to attack.
“They release a pheromone that alerts all the ants that there’s danger and they all come out ready to fight, ready to bite and sting,” said Smith.
Smith believes one of the best ways to avoid getting bit or stung by a fire ant is to not bother them.
“If a mound gets disturbed, it literally takes two or three seconds before they’re out and they have the ability to bite or sting,” said Smith.
Riceville, Tennessee resident Jimmy Elliott learned not to mess with the fire ants the hard way. He got stung by them a couple weeks ago.
“I thought a piece of wood here was just rotten and when I picked it up…I got about 25, 50 on my hand,” said Elliott.
Brian Smith warned that the ways that people try to get rid of fire ants can come back to bite them.
“A lot of people make mistakes trying to run them over with the lawn mower, or use gasoline or kerosene or some of type of raid or spray and really that just gets you in trouble,” said Smith. “You’ll just end up with more fire ants than you had before.”
He says the best way to get rid of the ants is to buy ant bait at your local hardware store and to place it near the hills.