What Happens to Fire Ants When it Rains?

Editor's note: Texas A&M Extension published the following reminder in the wake of recent hurricanes and subsequent flooding.

So last time I posted about rain and mosquitoes.  I thought I needed to follow up that post with one on rain and imported fire ants, especially since it's still raining.

I've been getting a fair number of inquiries about imported fire ants as of late.  There are usually two categories of questions that I've been fielding:

1. What happens to fire ants when it floods?

2. How do I control all the fire ants that are popping up?
I have covered both of these topics before and they are also covered on other sites with great information, so I will link you to sources for more information.

Question 1

Flooding and fire ants from a previous blog post

Scientific American article on how fire ants form rafts to survive floods

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Disaster Education Network article on fire ants after flooding

Question 2

Do you have fire ants? from a previous blog post- covers different basic types of treatments

Baiting for fire ants in the fall also from a previous blog post

Treating fire ants in certain backyard situations also from a previous blog post- this one covers "odd" areas like veggie gardens, compost bins, etc.

Source: IPM action plan for fire ants from eXtension.org