Fire ants can be a serious problem after hurricanes – particularly in flooded areas, according to experts with the LSU AgCenter.

"When the waters rise, the fire ants are forced out of their underground nests and float in a mass on top of floodwaters,"

"Floodwaters will not drown fire ants. Instead, their colonies will actually emerge from the soil, form a loose ball, float and flow with the water until they reach a dry area or object that they can crawl up on."

Floating fire ant colonies can look like ribbons, a mat or an actual "ball" of ants floating on the water, according to the experts, who say these writhing masses of ants contain the entire colony – worker ants, eggs, larvae, pupae, winged males and females and queen ants.

“While ants are ‘rafting’ (floating in water), they can inject up to two times the venom of a normal sting,” Beckley cautions. “Remember, if ants contact the skin they will sting.