A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants, seeds, and sometimes crickets. Fire ants often attack small animals and can kill them. Unlike many other ants, which bite and then spray acid on the wound, fire ants only bite to get a grip and then sting (from the abdomen) and inject a toxic alkaloid venom (piperidine). For humans, this is a painful sting, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire - hence the name fire ant - and the aftereffects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive individuals. When these pesky critters invade an area, they do it with a vengeance. There will be enormous numbers of them which can dramatically reduce populations of native ants, other insects, and even ground-nesting wildlife.

The violent death of a fire ant will emit an alarm pheromone that in high concentration sends other fire ants in the vicinity into attack frenzy, but in lower amounts, attracts them. A few fire ants use what is referred to as propaganda pheromones to confuse their enemies. The red imported fire ant builds mounds in almost any type of soil, but prefers open, sunny areas such as pastures, parks, lawns, meadows and cultivated fields. The mound has no opening in the center like most ant mounds.