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They ARE worse right after a rain because all that water does push them above ground.
BUT.....just because they ARE in NC, doesn't mean where YOU might choose to live is afflicted with them. Like I said, there's not a one to be found in my yard, or the 2 yards on either side of me. But my parents, who live a quarter of a mile down the road DO have them. But it doesn't stop my 72 yo mom from working in her yard. You just learn to be careful and look for mounds and treat them as soon as they appear.
That is absolutey true. We don't have them around us-yet. But again we have seen them where I work. That is in one of the oldest areas of Burlington where I am in a new development in Graham. Maybe they haven't had a chance to get established here yet.
But the OP is trying to get a feel for the state and unless a lot more people post on their areas, she has got to go with what she gets from us. So hopefully she will get more input from other posters who live in other places.
And I remember reading somewhere that there are like a gazillion insects per square inch across the earth. We really don't have a chance.
You have to kill the queen or the whole mound will just migrate. If you spray them the ones you see may die, but the queen will just keep busy building her empire below. Traps won't get the entire clan.
You have to treat with bait around the mound. Once you have them under control use a spreader to seasonally treat your lawn and they won't make your yard their "home".
I heard that the ants have an attack strategy where they will climb on the intruder or victim and one leader sends some sort of audible or sonic signal and they all bite you at once! I never verified that, but it makes sense since when you get bit you may look down and have 10, 20 or 30 biting all at the same time.
Florida, I agree, was HIDEOUS for that reason.
Don't discount NC for the fire ants, they are WAAAY more manageable! It's a great state and one of my very favorites!
If someone would let something as silly as a fireant dictate where they will live they deserve to have to live in less nice places than NC
That was not the reason for my post. They asked, answers had been vague so I put up a map, the type of information the OP had requested.
And if you follow many of the threads in the NC forum, you might notice that there are a great many threads about the number of insects people discover once they move here.
Insects seem natural to me, why would I think a place bugs can't survive might be a good place for me to live? Seems counter intuitive. But also keep in mind that fire ants are an 'invasive species' imported by man from South America in the 1930's.
That's being quite judgemental on your part. I have researched other posts on fireants on this forum and I am happy to report that I am not the only one who does not want to move somewhere that one must deal with fireants.
Most of those who share my sentiments are from Florida--so they know good and well what we go thru down here in dealing with fireants. You cannot go barefoot in your own yard or on the patio around your pool. You cannot do any kind of yard work or gardening without protective gloves and clothing.
Me thinks you have not had to deal with fireants and have not been stung by them or you would not make such a stupid remark. Dealing with fireants is not the same as dealing with the occassional gator or snake. Fireants are present in the millions in your own yard.
You also must not be aware of the fact that people die from fireant stings and people who have allergic reactions to them can be in serious trouble in a short time. A fireant sting also takes a while to heal. The sting swells, blisters, burns, itches, gets a pus-like head on it--and is often slow to heal.
Besides, if I have the luxury of choosing where I want to live (not have to live), I guess I can take into consideration anything I want to take into consideration. Obviously, you don't have that luxury and your priorities are different--so therefore, don't judge--just hush-up!
Actually, I am severely allergic to fire ants myself. I carry an epipen on my person at all times.
So, if someone like me could still live here, I'm thinking ANYBODY could live here without much trouble at all.
I restate my position, anyone who would let an INSECT dictate where they live is just too paranoid. It's like saying, I can't live in Alaska, they have bears! Or, I can't live in California, they have moutain lions and earthquakes. Live where you want and can afford to live people - life is short - ENJOY!
LoveMountains, I usually agree with most things you say, but I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. I am so glad my children did not have to deal with these pests. They are mean and dangerous. Just looking at that map makes me think about building a house on our land in Wilkes County and moving there. Then I look over at Branson and see they are in an area that seems to be even colder than our mountains. We spend a lot of money battleing these little buggers and still do not feel safe to go walking in our yard without using caution.
If you are planning to move, that is the time to be deciding what you do and do not want in the area you are moving to.
itsajourney said, "my entire back yard is nothing but fireants. Because the grass is so thick, sometimes it is difficult to see the mounds. One wrong step and you could be covered with them and they sting immediately" - well, THAT does sound like a problem - we don't have anything like that here. I'm thinking she's already in a lot more danger from fireants where she is than she ever would be in NC.
LovesMountains--I am not paranoid. I have simply lived life long enough to reallize a lot of what I like and don't like. No one place will probably be 100% perfect in all ways.
Been in Florida 8 years now. That is definitely a long enough time to know what I do like and do not like about living down here. I don't like gators, I don't like snakes, I don't like fireants, I don't like a lot about the zillions of other bugs down here.
Gators & snakes are random things--not a huge enough problem for me to move because of them and not enough of an issue to keep me from moving somewhere (although I would prefer to lose them). The gators will be easy enough to avoid. Snakes--not so. They are everywhere. However, I am seriously trying to recall if I ever saw a snake in the entire 11 years I lived in Pennsylvania. I know they are there--just never had an issue with them.
Fireants, on the other hand, are such a severe problem here in Florida that they do have an impact on your quality of life if you prefer to be outside. If I forget to slip on my flip flops before walking outside my door, odds are good that a fireant will get me before I get back into the house.
The occassional fireant is not the issue. It is however an issue if huge areas are already infested with fireants--esp if I like to walk barefoot in the yard or do some gardening.
LovesMountains--I am not paranoid. I have simply lived life long enough to reallize a lot of what I like and don't like. No one place will probably be 100% perfect in all ways.
Been in Florida 8 years now. That is definitely a long enough time to know what I do like and do not like about living down here. I don't like gators, I don't like snakes, I don't like fireants, I don't like a lot about the zillions of other bugs down here.
Gators & snakes are random things--not a huge enough problem for me to move because of them and not enough of an issue to keep me from moving somewhere (although I would prefer to lose them). The gators will be easy enough to avoid. Snakes--not so. They are everywhere. However, I am seriously trying to recall if I ever saw a snake in the entire 11 years I lived in Pennsylvania. I know they are there--just never had an issue with them.
Fireants, on the other hand, are such a severe problem here in Florida that they do have an impact on your quality of life if you prefer to be outside. If I forget to slip on my flip flops before walking outside my door, odds are good that a fireant will get me before I get back into the house.
The occassional fireant is not the issue. It is however an issue if huge areas are already infested with fireants--esp if I like to walk barefoot in the yard or do some gardening.
NC is not infested with fire ants the way Florida apparently is - you are safe to move here - long as you don't mind the black bears
I have no fire ants in my yard. they hate being mowed and the constant activity of my dogs keps them away and if I do see one, I treat it and its gone in a few days. I have seen soem very large mounds in areas where they are no disturbed.
I think I fall somewhere in between regarding opinion on avoidance of fire-ants(or similar) via moving away.
Especially for someone that has a severe allergic reaction to fire-ants, I tend to be more sympathetic to their desire to rank this issue as one of their criteria for relocation. So I understand how one might make this a priority.
But on the other hand, I've lived most of my life in the most intense areas(as indicated above) such as Houston, Dallas, Louisiana, and Florida(Orlando and Tampa), and have two observations:
1) From a comparative standpoint, fire-ants in NC are nowhere near as prevalent as the other areas I've lived. We currently don't maintain our yard very well(planning on some major work later), and even so only have three small mounds that I am aware of
2) If one were not terribly allergic to fire-ants, I never found them to really be that bad no matter where I lived. In fact the worst places I found them was usually rural, in pastures. We used to revel in playing with these mounds in Mississippi, which would get to be over a foot tall along cow trails But like poison ivy, which also can be quite an infestation, we just learned to be aware and recognize places they were likely to be found. This avoided most problems for me. Although every so often.... ouch
Fire-ants are no doubt a pest, and via bad luck can be a painful pest. I'm sure many areas are more infested than others, but I have wonder why the OP had such an infestation where they couldn't even walk in their yard at all? I never encountered that problem when I lived there, or anywhere else in the "deep south", and we didn't even bother with systemic treatments or poison except for the occasional "point solution". *shrug*
For those with persistent problems, it is probably like anything else... like dandelions.... one will probably have to exercise a consistent point and whole-yard treatment to break the cycle and then keep it at bay. Again, just like weeds, I suspect that even one year of inattention will have the cycle begin again.
Good luck to the OP and hope they love their new home. I loved Pennsylvania when I lived there as a kid. My father is up there right now for his HS class reunion
Yes. In the master bedroom. I "freaked". We paid a lot of money to have the exterminator put down "Top Choice" in the yard. Even after I move back to New England, I will never forget waking up to a trail of them beside my bed. Bet you're glad you asked. (Oh yeah, I'm near Raleigh... sorry).
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Sprays and traps don't work....
Current and future fire ant dispersal, may even reach portions of Pennsylvania
