They’re aggressive. Disturb them and they’re likely to swarm you, biting ten to 20 times per attack and injecting venom that causes an intense burning sensation, followed by itchy blisters. Scientists know them as Solenopsis invicta Buren and Solenopsis richteri Forel, but you can call them Red Imported Fire Ants. And they’re getting close to the DC area.
Late last month, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services expanded the area in which it had quarantined RIFAs in hopes will “slow the spread of this insect pest to un-infested areas of the Commonwealth.” The beasts, which have been in Virginia since 1989, can damage crops, clog irrigation lines, and make homes in electrical boxes, traffic lights, and air conditioning units, where they can eat insulation and cause short circuits. They form colonies that can rise two feet high and hundreds of them may attack when their homes are disturbed. Did I mention they can form living rafts and float away from danger?
Anyone in VDACS’ RIFA quarantine zone, which extends from Southside Virginia all the way up to Chesterfield County now, should take care not to move soil, sod, or farm equipment without contacting the commonwealth’s Office of Plant Industry Services. The rest of us can only hope against hope that they don’t make it past Fredericksburg.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
