Fire ants have comfortable crawled their way through the Southwest North America. These reddish-brown (at times black) ants which can be a sixteenth to a fourth of an inch long are ferocious creatures. They attack anything that disturbs their colony – usually a mound of debris that can be as large as 2 feet across and 2 1/2 feet high. So just in case you find an infestation near your home, be sure to know how to deal with them.

These ants are capable of biting its victim several times. If it happens to be you, these stings are painful that you feel that the spot is burning. These leave welts that can last for a couple of days. If you happen to be bitten, avoid scratching the welts. Visit a doctor just in case the pain doesn’t subside. Some people are allergic to these bites so be cautious of any reactions to the bites. Steroid creams often the most effective treatments to relieve swelling.

Just in case you have a colony near your home, you may opt to consult a pest control outfit to survey the best way to deal with these critters. Burning the colony proves to be effective so is the use of pesticides like carbaryl and diazinon. These are strong chemicals so make sure that you keep children and pets away from soaked colonies. Oftentimes, though, the queen can escape making and establishment of a new colony (usually near by) possible.