The ants best known for their sting, the imported fire ants, do not occur in Arizona. However, their relative, the southern fire ant is common in yards and may enter homes here. Although the stings are painful, they are harmless to most people. However, as with bee stings, some people may have a more severe reaction if allergic. It is important to understand a little about ant biology in order to control ants successfully.
Ants are social insects, which means they live in groups of numerous individuals called colonies.
One individual, called queen, produces all the eggs. She stays deep within the nest where she is protected. The ants you usually see are the workers. Their main job is to gather food and take care of young ants. When you smash a few of the worker ants, you may actually be doing very little to control the colony as a whole.