ABSTRACT
The impact of imported fire ants (IFA) on man has been the subject of a number of investigations which have centered on systemic allergic reactions to the venom. While systemic allergic reactions pose the greatest danger from IFA attacks, many lesser primary or secondary reactions may require medical treatment. An important development that coincided with the apparent decrease in economic importance of IFA in the 1950's was the advent and wide-scale use by farmers of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides for control of numerous soil insect pests. The North Carolina tests revealed that plant stand, plant height and IFA were negatively correlated with yield and that a regression analysis of IFA against yield indicated a 5.2 to 8.7 hl/ha reduction where ant activity was high compared to where it was low. IFA mounds only a few inches high interfere with harvest of soybeans.
