My Dad was tending his garden. He got tired so he sat on the ground...right on a colony of fire ants.
Dad learned the hard way. Those ants are nasty.
6 weeks ago my wife walked across the lawn to go to the house next door... in her sandals. She got nailed big time... she’s still getting over it.
They are also native to Central America and hitched a ride in un-inspected planters.
They’ve been spreading north from south Texas for at least 30 years. Another thing spread by illegal immigrants and under the table landscaping that doesn’t care about anything but price.
The ants controlled in their own environment by parasites, which Texas A&M is starting to use.
The ants need water, and their numbers are exploding now because of all the rain. If there’s no rain, they’re numbers drop.