Although unaffected places in the US and the rest of the world are going all out to prevent further advances by fire ants, convenience of transportation and globalization trends have opened the back door for them. In light of the spreading fire ant problem, the COA officially established the National Fire Ant Eradication Center on November 1st.
雖然美國未被入侵的區域及世界各國皆極力防範紅火蟻侵入，但因交通便利、全球化趨勢，使得防堵火蟻的策略終究百密一疏，一九九八年火蟻入侵南加州；二○○一年更橫渡太平洋，在紐西蘭與澳洲建立新的巢穴，造成農業危害。