The Good News Is We've Found A Natural Control For Red Imported Fire Ants

The bad news is that there doesn't seem to be anything that will stop Paratrechina sp. nr. pubens, AKA "Crazy Rasberry Ants." Currently, the only place you'll find them in the U.S. is in the area of Texas around Houston where they appeared in 2002. They may have come from Colombia where variants of this species "have been known to asphyxiate chickens and even attack cattle by swarming over their eyes, nasal passages and hooves."

"They are vulnerable to some pest control poisons — [Pearland exterminator Tom] Rasberry uses products containing the chemicals fipronil and chlorfenapyr — but given the ants' staggering proliferation and environmental restrictions on the products, not enough of the chemicals can be put down to make a difference, [doctoral student in urban entomology at Texas A&M Jason] Meyers said."

And when you do kill these ants, the survivors turn it to their advantage: They pile up the dead, sometimes using them as a bridge to cross safely over surfaces treated with pesticide.

What drew me to this story initially were the reports that the ants will destroy electronic equipment, but none of the reports explain how the destruction occurs. They don't say if the ants are chewing up some of the components or if its simply the mass of the ants colonizing an area that short out equipment.

Here's the official page on the Texas A & M site with the technical information, and here's the page for Jason Meyers who seems to be the top dog on the research.

The good news for us and the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District is that the ants like a humid environment, so they're unlikely to invade our desert.