On May 27, 2025, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) expanded the areas regulated for imported fire ant in the Virginia Imported Fire Ant Quarantine for Enforcement of the Virginia Pest Law (Quarantine) to include the counties of Chesterfield, Lee, Nottoway, Pittsylvania, Prince George, and Surry and the independent cities of Colonial Heights, Danville, Hopewell, and Petersburg.
In 1989, the first imported fire ant infestation was detected in the Commonwealth of Virginia. To date, all imported fire ant infestations appear to have been introduced into Virginia on nursery stock or other plant products from infested areas or by natural spread from nearby infested areas. With assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the VDACS Office of Plant Industry Services attempts to eradicate each fire ant occurrence outside of the regulated area. However, when the imported fire ant is established in an area, the infested localities are then included in the Quarantine and VDACS will no longer treat infestations within the quarantined area, concentrating instead on new infestations that may appear outside the quarantine area.
In 2009, a Quarantine was established in Virginia and included much of southeast Virginia. Since that time, the imported fire ant has spread and the Quarantine expanded in 2019, again in 2022, and most recently in 2025. The quarantine now covers 18 counties and 15 independent cities across the state.
Imported fire ant mounds are typically found in warm, sunny locations such as landscape beds, lawns, around trees and shrubs, along sidewalk cracks and against buildings. If disturbed, these ants are generally aggressive and can inflict painful stings.
If you suspect a fire ant infestation within the quarantine area, please use caution and contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office for treatment recommendations. If you suspect a fire ant infestation outside of the quarantine area, please report the sighting to VDACS using the Invasive Species Reporting Tool.
Under the terms of the quarantine, articles that are capable of transporting the imported fire ant (regulated articles) are prohibited from moving out of the quarantined area unless certified as free of imported fire ant. Regulated articles include, but are not limited to:
- Any life stage of imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren and Solenopsis richteri Forel, and their hybrids)
- Soil, except soil shipped in original containers after commercial preparation
- Plants with roots with soil attached and rhizomes with soil attached
- Grass sod
- Used soil-moving equipment unless free of all non-compacted soil
- Used farm equipment, unless free of all non-compacted soil
- Hay and straw stored in direct contact with the ground
- Honey bee hives stored in direct contact with the ground
- Logs and pulpwood with soil attached
Individuals who plan to move regulated articles out of the quarantined area should contact VDACS’ Office of Plant Industry Services to determine options for certifying regulated articles as free of imported fire ants.
Contact
David Gianino
804.786.3515
david.gianino@vdacs.virginia.gov
Click here for Office of Plant Industry Services contact information.
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