Annual infestation

Marshall, Texas, pays tribute to another Lone Star pest during the annual Fire Ant Festival in October.

“We just decided we have to deal with them so we might as well have fun with them,’’ festival director Connie Fugler says of the stinging red ants.

This “wild and zany’’ event includes a chili cook-off, when participants create chili dishes that must contain at least one fire ant; a Tour de Fire Ant bike ride; a parade with people dressed as ants and other insects; a Fire Ant Roundup, when participants compete to get as many ants as possible into a one-gallon jug; and a “chicken-chunking’’ contest, when people see who can throw a packed rubber chicken the farthest. And don’t miss the fire ant mating-call contest, which is so popular that Governor Rick Perry entered one year.