Fire Ants

Baiting  Mound Drenching  Broadcast Pesticides

Fire ants are a nuisance and a painful pest to anyone unlucky enough to live in their stomping grounds. It is unlikely we will eradicate these pests any time soon, but we can remove the problem associated with them by good integrated pest management (IPM) practices. This involves reducing their populations to tolerable levels by using safe and effective methods of control. [Bites and Stings]

This article will deal with three ant elimination methods: baiting, mound drenching and broadcasting of contact pesticides. In many cases, these methods can be used together in a year-round program.
The best program for eliminating ants and controlling them throughout the year:

• Drench all existing mounds with Demon EC or Talstar concentrate.  At least one gallon of finished solution is required for fire ant mounds, 1/2 gallon for smaller ones.  A good rule of thumb is to use one gallon of solution per foot of diameter of mound.  For example, a huge mound that is three feet wide (at its base) would require three gallons of finished solution.  This ensures that you kill ants deep in the colony structure.  Keep pets and children away from treated areas until dry.
• Broadcast entire area with Talstar granules.  Do not spot treat.  Broadcasting this professional granule ensures that all ants on the surface will contact your product.  After applying your granules, apply water to the treated area.  Water will help place the granules onto the surface of the soil, instead of allowing them to just rest on blades of grass.  Keep pets and children off of all treated areas until dry.  Talstar granules pose far less hazards to people, pets, wildlife and the environment than most granules on the market, but you must still follow good safety practices -- read and follow all label instructions.

This program may be implemented 1 to 3 times per year, varying with severity of ant infestation.

When treating mounds with any contact insecticide or professional bait, do not disturb mounds before treating.  If you do, the colony will immediately take the queen or queens to safety, either deep down in the mound or move them laterally to establish satellite mounds.  This stressing of the colony causes more problems than anyone can imagine.

Mound Drenching
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Generally, it takes 1 to 2 gallons of mixed pesticide solution to drench a fire ant mound effectively.  A mid-morning drench treatment is best when the sun starts warming up the colony. There are many insecticides that may be used for mound drenching, but we have the seen the best results with the following active ingredients: Bifenthrin (Talstar liquid concentrate, Talstar granules,) Cypermethrin (Cynoff EC, Cynoff WP, Demon EC, Demon WP, Cypermethrin 4 ounce) or Permethrin (Permethrin Pro, Dragnet, Flee.) These materials are all in the synthetic pyrethrin class of chemicals. Synthetics are far more photostable than common organophosphates (Durban, Diazinon, Malathion, Acephate) which can lose their effectiveness in as little as three hours of sunlight. Mounds properly drenched with synthetic pesticides can kill returning or foraging ants for 30 days or more! As an added benefit, synthetic pyrethroids are safer for humans and domestic animals as well as the environment, when used as directed by the label. The best example is Talstar, whose molecules actually bond to soil particles. This means that the material stays where you apply it and does not leach out into undesirable locations.

Permethrin Pro and Talstar (liquid and granular) give the best long term control when broadcasting large areas with a hose-end sprayer.  Permethrin Pro calls for 1 ounce of concentrate per 1,000 square feet. Talstar uses only 1/8 to 1/4 ounce per thousand.  If granular pesticides are preferred, use Talstar Granules or DeltaGard granules applied with a granule spreader for accurate application.  Although it is used at very low rates, Talstar has given us the longest control; many customers state that no ants re-enter a treated area for as long as three months!  Top Choice Granules are another product which gives long term control of fire ants.  These granules may be broadcast at any time of the year; for optimal control, apply TopChoice in spring of the year when fire ants are most active.

Baiting For Fire Ants
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The use of professional ant baits is a very thorough method of control, slowly killing the entire colony. Baits work best when used in the spring and early summer. When the weather gets hot and dry, baits are generally ineffective for fire ant control.  However, fire ant baiting has two drawbacks: cost and length of control time. For instance, baiting an entire area will kill the existing ant colonies but will not always control new ant colonies invading from nearby areas that were not baited properly. Also, most people with fire ant problems live on very large lots -- 2 acres or better. This involves a great deal of bait at a premium price. 

The most successful baiting practice for fire ant control on turf is to use granular baits such as Ascend or Maxforce Granular (or Extinguish Fire Ant Bait when baiting graze lands) in the early spring followed by soil drenches 4 to 6 weeks later if needed. Broadcast granular bait applications are most effective; however, it may take 4 to 6 weeks to give control. Early spring application is ideal because it controls recently developed queens before they leave on their nuptial flights and establish new colonies. Killing the queens is the only way to eliminate fire ant colonies. Follow-up granular bait applications usually are necessary in mid-summer and another one in the fall.

Apply baits when the ground is dry and when ground temperatures are between 70 and 90 °F with no forecast of rain. Apply baits around the base of mounds and also broadcast the entire areas where ants are seen foraging.. Baits are picked up by foraging ants looking for food. The ants take the bait back to the ant colony; it passes through the food chain and is fed to the queen ants. Granular bait recommendations are listed below.

In summer and fall, apply bait in the afternoon when temperatures are cooler because baits may rapidly degrade on hot, sunny days. By the time ants pick up the bait, the heat may have broken down the active ingredient, losing its effectiveness.
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