‘Highly aggressive’ invasive red fire ants infest California community, officials say

An invasion of “highly aggressive” imported red fire ants has taken hold in an affluent California community, officials reported.

The ants, native to South America, have infested Montecito , about 5 miles east of Santa Barbara, county officials said in a Thursday, July 18, news release.

“These ants pose an immediate threat to California’s agricultural economy because they require a quarantine of nursery products,” officials said in the release.

Red fire ants will sting people, pets and livestock to defend their nest, officials said. They are a hazard for farmworkers.

Venom from the ants can cause “painful pustules on the skin, and can be particularly dangerous, even fatal, to sensitive groups or those with an allergy to the venom,” the release said.

The ants also “can clog irrigation systems and damage electrical wiring,” officials said.

Agriculture officials believe the ants arrived in Santa Barbara County in nursery products from Riverside County in September, the release said.

The ants also are now found in Los Angeles and Orange counties, officials said.

Red fire ants reach up to about a quarter-inch long, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said.

They are believed to have first arrived in the United States in Alabama between 1933 and 1945, the agency said. They nest in mounds that can contain up to 230,000 workers.

They damage crops such as soybeans, eggplant and corn, the agency said.

In June, median home sale prices in Montecito were $8.9 million, Redfin reported.

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