Why not import anteaters?
Although anteaters are terrific ant predators, their cousin, the armadillo, is already in Texas, but has had little effect on RIFA populations. Good biocontrol agents are 1) highly host specific, 2) limited by their host availability, and 3) able to survive in the climate where they are introduced to control the pest species. Anteaters consume a wide range of ants, not just fire ants and, except for the giant anteater, live in trees and usually eat ants that nest in trees. Because the RIFA does not usually inhabit trees, the anteater wouldn’t have much of a chance to eat RIFAs. Also, anteaters are tropical and would not survive cold weather as well as fire ants do. Importing anteaters as biocontrol agents of the RIFA is an idea based on comic strips, not scientific observations.
