Fire Ants Fire ants have been in the United States for over sixty years, and almost every American that lives in or frequently visits the quarantined states which they inhabit has had an unpleasant run in with these troublesome critters. Inhabitants of the Southeast who have ever stood unwittingly atop a fire ant mound know that the insects are aptly named. When the ants sting it creates a sensation similar to scorching caused by a hot needle touching the skin momentarily (1. Tschinkel 474). Fire ants are native to South America and were introduced to the United States in 1928 through a port in Mobile, Alabama. The ants were stowaways hidden in soil used for ballast and i