Look out, Lowcountry: ‘Crazy’ ant species to invade this year, scientists say

A fast-multiplying, aggressive ant species known for infesting electrical equipment is expected to invade the Lowcountry this year, according to scientists at Clemson University.

The crazy tawny ant, also known as the Rasberry ant, first appeared in the U.S. 15 years ago and now looks to be making its way to South Carolina, according to a Clemson University news release.

“The predictive models show that the tawny crazy ant could become established in South Carolina in 2016, especially along the coastal counties from Jasper up to Georgetown,” said Eric Benson, professor and Extension entomologist in the plant and environmental sciences department at Clemson University.

These crazy ants are not to be taken lightly. Though they don’t sting humans like fire ants do, they carry their strength in numbers and can be harmful if they invade your home or workspace. And they do pinch.

“They can short out electrical equipment and infest homes, Benson said. “If you have millions of ants moving into a nursing home, a school, a hospital or any place that’s a sensitive environment, they will go from being a nuisance to an extremely serious problem. Entire floors of buildings can become covered with these ants.”

They also can wipe out colonies of other ants in their way and can be harmful to the ecology.

“Once established, this invasive species multiplies very quickly and can overwhelm its new surroundings,” Benson said. “These ants feed aggressively on anything organic and can outstrip an area of available food resources. They can even kill ground-nesting animals and become a danger to poultry, livestock and agriculture.”

Getting rid of the crazy ants can be tricky, experts say, so early detection is key. Insecticides will kill the ants, but this doesn’t help much if you kill one million out of 99 million.

“With other species of pest ants in South Carolina, their numbers aren’t as high in March when they’re just coming out of wintertime. They’ve coalesced their nests and basically put all their eggs in one basket. So we can kill a lot of ants with very targeted insecticides or baits,” Benson said.

Several Clemson scientists are surveying the areas along South Carolina’s southern coast to see if and when the crazy ant spreads to the Lowcountry.

This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 9:08 AM with the headline "Look out, Lowcountry: ‘Crazy’ ant species to invade this year, scientists say."