Are red imported fire ants all bad?

EdEarl · September 22, 2016

phys.org

Red imported fire ants have earned a justifiably bad rap across the south and most Texans would be hard put to name a single redeeming quality the ants have.

But a team of Texas A&M scientists and a colleague from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge have published a manuscript offering a glimmer of redemption for the invaders. The paper, "Decreased small mammal and on-host tick abundance in association with invasive red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta," was published in the scientific journal Royal Society Biology Letters on Sept. 21.

Prior to the fire ant invasion, we had other kinds of ants, including carpenter ants, which ate holes in the house. Since the fire ants arrived, I've not seen any carpenter ants in more than a decade, and few others species of ant as well. Anyone else notice changes from fire ants that may be beneficial?

While the lack of carpenter ants prevents damage to my house, the decay rate of fallen trees and branches is slower, I suspect, which may slow CO2 being released into the atmosphere and lessen global warming.

Edited September 22, 2016 by EdEarl

Moontanman · September 22, 2016

Fire ants are a pain, around here they can be dangerous. I have honestly never read that carpenter ants destroy solid wood or live trees. I have seen then tear apart rotten wood to eat the termites...

EdEarl · September 23, 2016

Yes, dead trees and house framing, including my house. They seem to be part of recycling dead wood. Many people use termite control services to prevent damage.

Edited September 23, 2016 by EdEarl

Moontanman · September 23, 2016

Yes, dead trees and house framing, including my house. They seem to be part of recycling dead wood. Many people use termite control services to prevent damage.

We have the black fire ants here, they are really a problem...

EdEarl · September 23, 2016

They are annoying and impossible to eliminate, they bite and sting, but are they really causing mayhem?

DrmDoc · September 23, 2016

Red ants! Stepping in their mounds barefoot or sitting on them accidentally, I have nothing but fond memories of them growing up in the south. Avoid them, we didn't and seldom had to. They weren't as much pests to us as they were sources of cruel childhood amusement. Oh, the things we did to them and to others with them! Those warm summers and the sweet smell of honeysuckle, it was an innocent time that passed so quickly. Regarding the article, I do recall that wherever the red ant's nested, it was more difficult to find the insects we used for fish bate and the small animals we collected as pets (e.g., frogs and lizards).