State officials worried about fire ants invasion

      Southern Nevada could have some unwelcome guests in future months.
      Red Imported Fire Ants have already been sighted in a handful of locations in Clark County, causing alarm about the possible health and property risks which accompany the ants throughout their travels.
      In response to the sightings, a coalition of UNR educators, agricultural scientists and health professionals are seeking the community's help to prevent the ants from gaining a permanent presence in Southern Nevada.
      "We have what I call a fair potential for having ants in this community," said state entomologist Jeff Knight. "It's a big concern for us to keep this ant from being established here in Southern Nevada. The potential is real that it has already been introduced (locally)."
      Fire ants, which first came to the United States from South America in the early 1900s, have plagued the Southeast U.S. for years, where they cause millions of dollars in damage to property and pose a significant threat to wildlife and human health.
      Texas spends $7.9 million each year fighting the ants and estimates they cause more than $300 million in damage each year. And the ants are heading west.
      Arizona recently increased its budget for nursery and border inspections by $200,000 in reaction to fire ant sightings in the Los Angeles area. California officials are estimating it will cost $25 million in the next five years to bring its current infestation to the point where eradication can begin.
      So far, no local sightings have been made in residential areas. However, fire ants were found in two nurseries in southeast and south central Las Vegas in mid-June.
      That discovery comes on the heels of a fire ant attack on a Southern Nevada resident six months ago, which led to an 800-square-mile area -- covering three Southern California counties -- being quarantined in an effort to control the spread of the ants.
      Inspections at nurseries with local ties also increased from 40 to 186 sites, and efforts to seek out fire ant colonies in residential areas are now under way.
      "With an infection so close to our border, this becomes imperative for everyone in this valley," said Paul Iverson, an administrator from the Nevada Division of Agriculture. "So many of our landscapers have been getting their stock from nurseries within this quarantine area. We're really concerned about what was shipped in here over the last five years."
      Said Knight: "The California infestation switched our whole line of thinking. If we can get a handle on this early, hopefully we can contain it. ... We don't know the extent of the problem outside of the nurseries and we don't have the manpower to check in everyone's back yard."