Santa Barbara County has spent a total of $15,000 eradicating local populations of red imported fire ants to prevent the invasive species from spreading.
A new population of 'highly aggressive' red imported fire ants has been found and has infested a private property in Montecito, according to Santa Barbara County officials. The ants are capable of biting and stinging humans, pets and livestock, typically in defense of their nest or colony, according to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner's Office.
The invasive insects have been a thorn in the side of Californian pest control officials ever since they waged war on the bugs in the late ’90s and early 2000s. In Riverside, where Taravati is based, the ants have such a stronghold that removing them is nearly impossible, he said. But he thinks Santa Barbara still has a chance of stopping their spread.
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