What insect creates these nests?

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tomcran Bradenton, FL Jul 04, 2016

Here are a couple of photos of nests which keep appearing by my garden. I spray them down with water, but they come right back. I suspect they are some sort of ant variety, but I never see ants or anything around them, even when I dig into a fresh one. I have infestations of a sort of very little black ant inside my house once in a while - are these the sort of nest small very small black ants make. What is making these nests and how do I destroy them? Thanks for any input!

This message was edited Jul 4, 2016 1:58 PM

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Mipii (Robin) Blissfield, MI(Zone 6a) Jul 04, 2016

Those look like they might be Fire Ant nests.

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tomcran Bradenton, FL Jul 05, 2016

It seems like I've seen fire ant nests before and these don't look like them. I could be wrong but in addition I have seen no fire ants around my house or in that specific area at all. I see none around the nests or even if I dig into the nests. These nests pop up overnight and I never see any sign of what did it. Here is one that popped up overnight, a slightly better picture.

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Mipii (Robin) Blissfield, MI(Zone 6a) Jul 05, 2016

Try sticking a straw or a pencil into it and see if the insects swarm.

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OutsidePlaying Laceys Spring, AL(Zone 7a) Jul 05, 2016

I agree they look like fire ant nests. Difficult to get rid of without them popping up somewhere else. You need to kill the queen and sterilize the workers so sometimes it takes more than one type of fire ant killer.

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tomcran Bradenton, FL Jul 05, 2016

I just discovered a hole with a diameter of about an inch, beside one of these - any such holes are apparently generally obstructed by the dirt and grass, so I hadn't seen one before. The hole is visible in the top left. It goes down a few inches then curves sideward. So its looking like this is apparently the result of something digging. I've seen lots of large beetles walking around there... maybe it's them? (By the way, I can see how one would think it is fire ants but I have dug into these mounds, found none, and have seen no fire ants around the property at all. So, given the hole, it looks like something else).

This message was edited Jul 5, 2016 4:02 PM

This message was edited Jul 5, 2016 4:03 PM

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