Where do European fire ants live?
European fire ants live in decaying logs or soil, under rocks and human debris, and even in thick clumps of grass or under leaves. In Maine, this ant appears to take advantage of multiple habitats, including lawns, old fields, scrub/shrub and deciduous forests. The ants do not nest in houses and do not make large mounds. How do European fire ants move to new places? Since European fire ants develop their colonies in soil and similar materials, they can be moved in potted plants and mulch from nurseries, and in soil moved to or from building sites. At least one colony of European fire ants was moved from a coastal Maine nursery to a landscape located 20 miles inland. Also, in a process called “colony budding,” a group of ants takes a queen and moves away from their original colony to establish a new nest in a nearby site. In this way, infestations spread outward over time. How can European fire ants be managed? Many people currently rely on insecticides to curb this pest. Since populati
