Fire Ants and this year's winter

[zthatzmanz28]

I thought I had heard that they are currently at their limits for migration based on weather.

Maybe I read that somewhere?

[OhZone]

I use the ant bait "Amdro". It gets both the little fire ants and those big red ants.
I live on an acre and when I first came here we had a lot of them. They are pretty rare now.
Weird thing is I hardly saw Any ants this past year.
Another weird thing....No Acorns. Years past I had to sweep the driveway every day.
I really have to wonder what's going on.

[caution]

OhZone, some oaks dont' produce acorns every year, IIRC

[caution]

Originally Posted by e2ksj3

Thanks for the response everyone. So it looks like the pest are here to stay, huh, lol? Just curious how much cold can they withstand. Would they be able to thrive in the northeast or midwest like they have thrived in the southeast now or will the cold keep them from going too far north?

If you want to make a non-scientific comparison, there are maps online that show the "range" of the fire ant. You can compare those with a "Zone Map" used to determine temperature ranges for planting.

Map of RIFA (all time)
Map of Red Imported Fire Ant (IFA), Solenopsis invicta - Pest Tracker - NAPIS

updated (for 2006) "zone map" from Arbor Day Foundation
Hardiness Zone Lookup at arborday.org

Here's what I think after reading a few articles and papers about them. They don't seem to be able to move the colony into areas where there are extended temperatures well below freezing that include dips into the -10F range.

They could prove me wrong though. And we're warming up, so they may be able to move north, however slow, with the gradual warming of the climate (natural or manmade, take your pick).

I think these now-infrequent artic blasts that keep the southern states below freezing for several days and include some teens and single digits in the middle south do help us keep them in check, but I can't prove it.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by eyewrist

Try doing a search on them. There are different species. The ones I am talking about are beneficial nematodes; there are those that are detrmental also.

Interesting:

Making microscopic worms into a more deadly insecticide