Imported fire ants found throughout Central Virginia: What you need to know

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Invasive imported fire ants have now been found in Chesterfield County, the Tri-Cities and several other Central Virginia localities, state officials said.

The imported fire ant, an invasive species that was introduced to America in the 1930s, is a pest that can damage crops and hurt smaller animals with its painful sting.

"As an urban pest, imported fire ants are a nuisance pest and can cause allergic reactions, including rare instances of anaphylactic shock in humans," the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) said.

To prevent the spread of imported fire ants across the Commonwealth, VDACS has an established quarantine protocol -- one that was recently expanded to include several new localities, according to a Wednesday, May 28 press release.

According to VDACS, imported fire ants can infest new areas either naturally or with human assistance. To limit the latter, counties with documented infestations are put under quarantine protocol.

The newly-quarantined localities include Chesterfield, Nottoway, Prince George, Lee, Pittsylvania and Surry counties, as well as the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg.

All of the current quarantine areas are shown in red on the map below.

Imported fire ant quarantine areas as of May 27. (Photo: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services)

The full list of Central Virginia localities with documented imported fire ants is as follows:

• Brunswick County
• Chesterfield County
• Colonial Heights
• Dinwiddie County
• Emporia
• Greensville County
• Hopewell
• Lunenburg County
• Mecklenburg County
• Nottoway County
• Petersburg
• Prince George County
• Sussex County

The quarantine protocol restricts how people can move certain items -- including soil, plants and farming equipment -- from infested areas to other parts of Virginia.

The following items cannot leave quarantined areas without being certified as free of imported fire ants:

• Soil, except soil shipped in original containers after being prepared commercially
• Rooted plants with soil attached and rhizomes with soil attached
• Logs and pulpwood with soil attached
• Hay, straw and honeybee hives stored in direct contact with the ground
• Grass sod
• Used soil-moving equipment, unless free of all non-compacted soil
• Used farm equipment, unless free of all non-compacted soil

It is also prohibited to move any life stage of imported fire ant from infested areas.

If you are a business located in a quarantined locality and you need to ship something outside of the quarantine area, you will need to follow USDA guidelines for treatment and shipping, which can be found here. You may also enter into a compliance agreement with VDACS to facilitate the shipping of regulated items.

For more information, visit VDACS' website.