Fire Ants in Georgia??? (Atlanta, Macon: university, subdivision, allergies)

[itsajourney]

In my search for a new place to call home, hopefully for the last time, I have concentrated on demographics, culture, location, etc.

I now realize that some of the critical things that I want to leave behind and not deal with deal with any longer are some of the critters we have in Florida. I have totally neglected to ask people about these things in my travels. I would like to get back into gardening--both vegetable and flower. I am looking forward to no more fire ants. I hate them with a passion--and they are everywhere down here.

Can someone please tell me how far up into Georgia you have problems with these critters? I seriously mean they would definitely influence where I would choose to live. To me, they are a bigger pain in the /;/. than snakes and gators--although I hope to pretty much leave those behind also.

[rcsteiner]

I think fire ants are found in the Atlanta metro, but I've not encountered them.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by itsajourney

Can someone please tell me how far up into Georgia you have problems with these critters? I seriously mean they would definitely influence where I would choose to live. To me, they are a bigger pain in the /;/. than snakes and gators--although I hope to pretty much leave those behind also.

Wikipedia is your friend....

Red imported fire ant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[cityrover]

They are area based... never seen them in cobb, few in cherokee, all over hall

overal not a problem. here its the big black ants you have to worry about.. whatever they are called. carpenter ants or something

[midgeorgiaman]

Pockets can be found throughout the state. The entirety of Georgia is under the Red Imported Fire Ant quarantine. Basically means that no nursery in GA can sell plants or plant materials to any non-RIFA area without treating the soil. The mountain counties were recently included which means that enough were found for the USDA to consider them "infested". Even here in Macon it is a crapshoot. Some areas seem to have none while others are so infested that one could not walk without staring at the ground to avoid the ant hills.

[keeshonder]

I have not seen them in the Athens area, although all of Georgia is supposed to have them. I am pretty sure that about the farthest south without them is Kentucky, at least when I took my master gardener's class there about 4 years ago. I garden here, in Athens and have had no problem. And I use all organic methods with no chemical insect control.

[mikepayne]

we almost had them eradicated in the early 1960s, then our wonderful EPA got involved!!!:mad :

[mmenomen]

I would think extreme North GA would be your best bet. It is probably too cold for fire ants, just as most of Tennessee is. Fire ants are definitely a concern for some who have severe allergies to bee stings as they can be deadly. The Wiki article is interesting about them. I know first hand that fire ants are very numerous in Gwinnett, Dekalb, Fulton, Clayton and Henry counties. South Georgia is even worse, of course.

If you cannot find the exact line in GA where the fire ants stop (by Google or other info online the Wiki map), which I *believe* may be some of extreme North Georgia in the mountainous ranges, you could ask an area entomologist at the University of Georgia or someone else qualified in the area. Probably metro wide area pest control companies would know as well.

[sr_30]

Fire ants are very much around where i live in the smyrna area. I suddently became aware of their existence a couple of years ago after i accidentally stepped on a few of these in the subdivision where i live. i was bitten, had a severe allergic reaction, was rushed to the ER and barely made it through. i have been on an Immunotherapy treatment since. I see them everywhere now, but i am very careful, always wearing socks/shoes when i am walking outside and carrying my Epi-pen.

Just an FYI.

[Mattie]

I'm surprised that some haven't seen fire ant mounds in GA. Maybe because our area is semi-rural, but they are plentiful. It's easy enough to treat the ones on our property, we check for them regularly. But, because so much of the surroundings are fields, they grow unchecked. My husband even found himself standing on one at a rest stop in VA a few weeks ago.