Fire ants can be a problem for people or animals.  Young, inexperienced birds taking their first "sand bath" can be swarmed by fire ants and killed.

 

There is an environmentally friendly way to take care of fire ants.  Cream of Wheat dry cereal.  Non-toxic, inexpensive, thorough.

On a day when rain is not expected for 24 hours, sprinkle uncooked Cream of Wheat cereal onto fire ant beds and the small outpost mounds.  Worker ants will carry the small bits back and feed the queen.  When the moisture in the queen's body contacts the small pieces of wheat, they absorb the liquid and expand, thus exploding inside the queen, killing her.  When the queen dies, the colony dies.

Cream of Wheat is more readily effective than grits (which may also be used), due to the smaller size of the milled grain.

 

This treatment is not necessary for other ant colonies, as they provide a great service aerating the soil with their tunnels, and scavenging dead insects and animals, providing a thorough cleaning of the area.