How to use Home Pest Control Methods for Fire Ant Control

Fire Ant control is a never ending battle for home owners where these dangerous insect pests are found. There are steps to take to become an exterminator of fire ants and to insure long lasting success. Knowing about the different types of fire ant treatments available and how best to use them is key to fire ant control and to any long lasting fire ant prevention.

Things You'll Need

• Fire Ant bait product
• Broadcast insecticide
• Mound Treatment
• Hand held broadcast spreader

Instructions

1. Learn how fire ant society works and about the life cycle to become an exterminator of them. Home pest control of fire ants means understanding their habits. A fire ant colony is made up of one or more fertile fire ant queens, hundreds of thousands of sterile workers, immature larvae, and at certain times of the year, thousands of fertile male drones and young virgin females. The workers, besides doing the manual labor of building the mound, go out to forage for food and bring it back to feed the colony. Adult ants cannot eat solids so they liquefy the food or extract fluids from it to feed to the other ants, the queen, and the larvae back in the nest. The larvae and queen in turn regurgitate a protein rich liquid that the ants pass around and feed on. It is this intertwining of their lives and the sharing of food that is important when it comes to killing fire ants. The fire ant queen's job is to produce eggs that will become replacement workers, which will defend the colony from other ants and ant predators. At certain times of the year, when temperatures and moisture levels are right, the queen will produce pheromones that cause some of her larvae to develop into fertile males and females with wings. These reproductives will suddenly leave the nest in mass as a swarm to fly to new areas and set up nests of their own. This swarming generally happens from spring until fall after warm rains and means that new ants will always be coming into an area. The males die after mating and the fertile females break off their wings and dig out a small egg chamber to start a new colony. She will start off slowly laying only a few dozen eggs and gradually building up her colony. One month later she will be laying some 1500 to 2000 eggs a day and can live for over 6 years. Fire ants will not forage when temperatures are below 72 degrees or over 95. They will turn to nighttime foraging when it gets too hot. They can travel over 150 feet searching for food and are attracted to high protein food sources such as pet foods and meats. Getting rid of fire ants is an ongoing job.

2. Learn about the fire ant killer insecticides on the market. Fire ants treatment products fall into three main types, Baits, Mound treatments, and Broadcast insecticides. Fire ant bait products work by being attractive to the ants as a food source to take back to the nest. Because of the fire ants food sharing habits this food is spread throughout the colony by the ants. This is important because it means the fire ant queen will be affected by the product. Getting rid of fire ants colonies means getting rid of the queen. Baits tend to be slow acting, taking a month or more to totally clear an area of ants, but they also tend to be long lasting and will destroy any small fire ant mounds not seen as well as the large ones. Fire ant baits contain slow acting insecticides or growth regulators that affect the ant's ability to mature or reproduce. Fire ant baits are a good preventative choice to use early in the season before there are large mounds all over the lawn. Individual fire ant mound treatments consist of anything from boiling water to sprinkled on dusts and liquid drenches. In areas with lots of mounds these can be time consuming and only partially effective as only large noticeable mounds are treated, not the small ones with new queens, just coming on. If not done correctly the fire ants will simple move after the treatment is applied. These ant extermination methods are good for fire ant mounds that show up in the worse places and need to be gotten rid of quickly. Many of these treatments will work fast often overnite but some such as using boiling water are dangerous and will harm the grass as well. Broadcast insecticides are contact fire ant poisons that kill the ants when they come in contact with the toxin as it spreads out into the soil. The foraging workers will be killed and if used during swarming season these products will also kill young fire ant queens building new nests. The colony will gradually die out, due to a lack of food as the workers are killed off before they bring food to the nest. Some of the broadcast products have a long lasting effect giving season long control. Under resources below is a link to an Ala. Extension System web-page that gives a detailed listing of the different fire ant control products by brand name, the active chemicals they contain, and how fast they work. It also lists the cost of use of each and how they compare danger-wise.

3. Any home pest control method giving total fire ant extermination uses all three types of fire ant treatments. It is important to use each type correctly and to not depend on just one product. In a yard already heavily infested with lots of large fire ant mounds where quick control is wanted use one of the fast acting broadcast insecticides and a mound treatment product. Choose a product that is safe to use around children and pets or around gardens if present. Some of the safer products such as cedar oil and D-limonene, while they kill fast, do not last long and must be reapplied regularly. Some of these contact poisons can be expensive and dangerous for pets and wildlife. Use a mound treatment to treat those near the house mounds that need a quick solution. Don't disturb the fire ant mound before or when using these unless the directions say to and don't use too much of the product. With drenches be sure to totally drench the mound with at least 2 gallons of pre-mixed solution. Once the fire ant population is knocked down with these fire ant poisons switch to the less expensive, safer to use, and easy to apply bait products. Apply the granular fire ant baits using a broad cast spreader that will apply them at the low rates called for, usually less than 1/4 lb. per 1000sq. ft. of lawn area. It is best to apply baits in the spring, once daytime temps start hitting the 70's, and then again mid summer and finally in the fall. Remember the fire ants won't be active in very hot temperatures, so apply fire ant baits and short acting products when there are foragers out, to come in contact with them. Put a small piece of meat out and check it after 30 minutes to see if the fire ants are active.

4. Plan out a fire ant control program and use it on a yearly basis. Because fire ants spread by having swarms of flying individuals, getting rid of fire ants in a yard for one season will not permanently solve the problem. It is important to use fire ant treatments every year and throughout the warm weather season when fire ants are active. It does no good to treat for fire ants during the winter when they are inactive. Use permethrin based sprays around the perimeter of the house to keep fire ants out especially after prolonged wet spells. They will try to get out of the wet soil and enter any dry area they can find so spray around windows, doors, sheds, pet's houses, and trash cans. Fire ants will even climb up vehicle tires and nest in cars.
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Tips & Warnings

• The old myths of using grits, corn meal, or rice to kill fire ants will not work.

• Fire ant bites are best treated by taking an anti-histamine and using hydrocortizone on the bites.

• Seek a doctor's treatment for severe cases of bites.

• Read all labels and follow all safety warnings when using insecticides.