Fire ants are a perennial problem in the South, and in South Carolina, but science is working to control them. Aiken County Clemson Extension Agent Vicki Bertagnalli and former Richland County Clemson Extension Agent Tim Davis both have tested ant baits before they were marketed, and say they can be 85-90 percent effective in controlling fire ants when used in the spring and fall.
In addition, help has come from South America, where the ants originated, in the form of a fly that attacks the ants and whose larvae decapitate them! But Davis warns that these are only control measures, and notes that there is no magic bullet that will eradicate the pests completely.