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GREENSBORO — Despite years of people trying to hold back fire ants, the pesky insects with a nasty bite claim Guilford County as part of their Tar Heel real estate.

Parts of Guilford and Alamance counties — the area south of Interstate 40 — last week joined a growing area quarantined because of the red fire ant.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services expanded the quarantine to part or all of 20 counties, raising to 70 the number of counties in quarantine.

It means residents and business owners must get permits from the state when transporting soil, hay and soil-moving equipment to or through nonquarantined areas.

For landscapers, the restrictions mean they can’t accept material from a business in quarantine that doesn’t have that state permit, said Richard Saunders, vice president of Green View Landscaping in Greensboro.

Businesses in a quarantined area must undergo two inspections a year if they are the original shippers of the material.

The permitting and periodic inspections are an effort to slow the spread of fire ants, Saunders said.

Fire ants arrived in America in the 1930s, mixed in with a ship’s cargo. Since then, they have spread to 22 states, mostly across the southern half of the United States, according to the National Agricultural Pest Information System.

The ants damage soybeans, okra, strawberries and potatoes, and chew on citrus trees and their fruit, according to the National Park Service.

Fire ant mounds, which can reach up to more than a foot high, interfere with farming and mowing. The ants tunnel underneath roads, causing sections to collapse. They also are attracted to electrical fields and can ruin traffic signals and household electric meters.

Aggressive and territorial, fire ants will attack when their home is disturbed. Their sting, similar to a wasp’s, creates a burning sensation that feels like fire — hence the name “fire ant.” While not typically fatal, the fire ant’s sting can be dangerous for children or those sensitive to the venom.

The invasive ant costs the United States about $1 billion annually in crop loss and eradication efforts, according to the Global Invasive Species Database.

The quarantine will cost businesses money as well, said Kevin Cagle, an owner-partner of Greenthumb Nursery in Montgomery County. They’ll have to treat materials with special pesticides effective against red fire ants, he said.

“It’s a pain,” he said. “It’s a lot of upkeep.”

Montgomery has been under quarantine for more than a decade, Cagle said.

Fire ants didn’t just arrive in Guilford County. But the infestation recently reached a level high enough to warrant quarantine, Cagle said.

The fire ant’s expansion here can be explained in part because of recent mild winters, state officials say. Most recently, though, it’s because of increased residential and industrial development, which introduced the ants in infested sod and nursery stock.

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com