Florida amongst states enduring invasive species

America is under cordon not by a foreign power, but by invasive species gradually working their way across the nation, leaving sometimes devastated and often-changed scenery in their wake. Just as Dutch elm disease from Asia removed an iconic tree from the American landscape beginning in the 1940s, the emerald ash borer may overcome the ash tree in coming years. West Nile virus from Africa killed 57 Americans last year. And work crews often encounter giant Burmese pythons in South Florida.

The newest addition to the list of non-native creepy-crawlies is the hairy crazy ant. The tiny foragers are supposed to have come from South America. They first got to the Caribbean in the late 19th century and are working their way through Florida and the Southeast. First discovered nine years ago in Texas by exterminator Tom Rasberry, the ants are now also in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, Va. According to Texas A&M University, the ants are semitropical, so cooler temperature as they move northward should finally stop them.

When the insects meet another colony of crazy ants, they become a super colony and "can overrun an area hundreds of thousands of ants can darken a sidewalk or a building," Fredericks says. "When they get into folks' homes, it's like a scene out of a horror movie." Invasive species like these are costly and risky to both humans and the ecosystems we depend on, says Christopher Dionigi, assistant executive for domestic policy for the federal National Invasive Species Council, which coordinates invasive-species work among 13 central departments and agencies.

NISC estimates that agencies together spend $1.5 billion on invasive species prevention and control each year. The numbers are increasing, with new species such as hairy ants arriving and longer-term pests such as zebra mussels requiring ever more work to keep in check.