For Release On Or After 06/25/10

Fire ants inflict painful stings and create unsightly mounds in our yards and gardens, so most of us would be happier if there were no fire ants around. It’s interesting to note, however, that fire ants are excellent predators and help control such pests as fleas and ticks in lawns.

Although eradicating the fire ant in Louisiana is about as likely as doing away with the mosquito or the cockroach, they can be controlled with persistence and the correct application of insecticides. But no treatment will eradicate them permanently from a yard.

A variety of products and methods can be used to control fire ants effectively. The product or method you select is determined primarily by the situation and your preferences. Remember, when using a pesticide, always read the label carefully before you purchase it. Make sure you understand and are comfortable with how to use it and whether it is appropriate for your situation.

Baits

Fire ant baits consist of an insecticide combined with a food fire ants will eat. The ants take the bait to the colony and feed it to other ants, including the queen. Baits may be applied to individual mounds or, even better, broadcast over an entire yard.

Even more effective than treating one yard, research done by the LSU AgCenter shows that neighbors who get together and treat an entire neighborhood get even better results.

Use fresh bait and apply it when the ground and grass are dry and no rain is expected for the next 24 hours. Apply baits when the worker ants are actively searching for food. A number of baits with a variety of active ingredients are available.

Dusts

Some products, such as those containing acephate, are applied as a dry dust. Ants walking through the treated area get the dust on their bodies and carry the insecticide into the mound. Within a few days the entire colony should be killed. To use a dust, distribute the recommended amount evenly over the undisturbed mound.

Mound drenches

Other insecticides used to control fire ants are mixed with water and then applied to the mound as a drench. These liquid mound drenches kill the ants underground but must be applied in sufficient volume to penetrate the entire nest. Generally, about one gallon of diluted mixture is poured gently over the top of each mound. These drenches usually eliminate mounds within a day.

Granules

Granular products offer another method of getting insecticide into fire ant mounds. To treat a single mound, measure the recommended amount and sprinkle it on top of and around the mound. Do not disturb the mound.

If the label specifies to water in the granules, use a watering can to gently pour one to two gallons of water over the treated mound to wash the granules into the soil. Unless the product completely penetrates the mound, ants will move to a different site via underground tunnels to avoid the insecticide.

Organic controls

Organic gardeners accept a few active ingredients used in fire ant control products such as boric acid, pyrethrin, rotenone, citrus oil extract and diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth, a natural silica-based dust, will kill some ants, but it rarely eliminates ant colonies when used alone. Avoid breathing in the dust-like particles.

Pouring 2 to 3 gallons of very hot, almost-boiling water into the hill will eliminate about 60 percent of the mounds treated, but this treatment must be done carefully or the person doing the treatment could be burned. Very hot water also will kill any grass and plants it contacts. Surviving mounds will need to be treated again.

Be advised some home remedies don’t work well. Spreading grits on a fire ant mound will only feed them or make them move. Placing orange or grapefruit peel on a fire ant mound will only make them move to another spot. Shoveling one mound on top of another in an attempt to force the ants to kill each other is not effective.

Your parish LSU AgCenter office has an excellent free publication available called “Managing Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas.” It includes complete coverage of the problems fire ants cause and effective methods for how to control them. It also includes information on how to organize a community-wide fire ant suppression program.

This publication includes a complete list of the types of fire ant insecticides, modes of action and formulations with generic names of active ingredients and some examples of product names.