The invasive species has been spreading across Virginia since 1989.
As the 2024–25 school year closed, some unwanted guests surfaced on the campus of Carver Middle School in Chester: tiny, painful fire ants. They built at least two anthills on and around the school grounds. School staff marked the hills with pink flags to keep people away.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced in late May that the state’s Imported Fire Ant Quarantine had been extended to Chesterfield County and the Tri-Cities area after the invasive species had been discovered in the area.
Virginia’s quarantine — which identifies the fire ant as “notorious for its aggressive behavior [and] ferocious sting” — imposes limitations on the movement of goods like plants and construction materials to curb the movement of the insects, which can cause significant damage to agricultural commodities.
“They’re mainly being spread through materials, so that’s why we’re being put under this quarantine to help fight any spread,” said Sierra Seekford, an agricultural and natural extension agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Some county residents, like Marissa Snider, are concerned about the incursion the ants are making into Chesterfield.
“They’re not fun,” Snider said while letting her two dogs play in the dog run at Rockwood Park. “They’re called fire ants because it feels like your hands are on fire.”
Fire ants have been in Virginia since 1989, but move sporadically. Officials suggest leaving the hills completely alone, but Seekford said that residents who want to get rid of anthills should only use bait poison that the ants would take back to their hill.
“If you disturb the mound, they can actually split and make more mounds,” she said.
She suggested residents suspecting a fire ant infestation should call their local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.
