The current, proven method to best control fire ants in the home yard is
called the Two-Step program.
Two-stepping includes broadcasting a bait insecticide over your entire yard
sometime between late August and mid-October, and then treating
individual, problem mounds with an approved mound drench, granule, bait,
or dust insecticide.
For the entire current list of baits and contact insecticides, follow this link:
http://fireant.tamu.edu/files/2013/05/2013-Fire-Ant-Bait-Misc-ControlProducts-5-30-13.pdf
Step One: Broadcast baits
Baits are slow-acting and require weeks to months to achieve 80% to 90%
control. Bait products can be used to easily treat large areas effectively.
They contain extremely low amounts of toxins. For best results:
o
Use fresh bait, preferably from an unopened container.
o
Apply when the ground and grass are dry and no rain is expected
for the next 24 to 48 hours.
o
Apply when worker ants are actively looking for food, usually in late
afternoon or in the evening. To test, put a small pile of bait next to
a mound and see if the ants have found it within 30 minutes.
o
Apply baits with hand-held seed spreaders. Don’t apply baits mixed
with fertilizer or seed.
o
Baits can be applied anytime during the warm season. When
applied in late summer/early fall, ants are still foraging and it’s
easier to predict weather patterns. Then the bait can take effect
over the winter while you’re indoors. Re-apply baits once or twice a
year.
Broadcast bait product options:
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Amdro - Not to be confused with Amdro Pro. Full effect of the product
on the ants takes 3-6 weeks. May be used in corrals and other animal
holding areas, NOT for use in hay pastures or where livestock used for
food or feed production is grazed. Refer to label for specifics.
Amdro Yard Treatment Fire Strike - Full effect of the product on the
ants takes about 3-6 weeks. Residual activity lasts usually 1-3 months
if applied in the spring and, 3-6 months if applied in the fall. Can be
applied through a regular fertilizer spreader at 5 lb per 5,000 – 10,000
sq ft. May be used in corrals and other animal holding areas, NOT for
use in hay pastures or where livestock used for food or feed production
is grazed.
Distance - Relatively slow, 1-3 months applied in spring, 3-6 months
in fall. Distance may be used on turf in residential/domestic sites,
institutional sites, uncultivated non-agricultural areas, or on indoor and
outdoor container or field grown ornamentals in commercial nurseries.
Spinosad bait products (also called Conserve) – “Ferti-lome Come and
Get It” and “Southern Ag Payback Fire Ant Bait” may be applied in
lawns and other turfgrass or recreational areas, including golf courses,
parks, playgrounds, and playing fields, ornamentals growing outdoors,
tree fruits, citrus, stone fruit, tree fruit. Application to vegetables and
single mound treatments in rangeland and permanent pastures are
allowed with Ferti-lome product. Additional applications may be
required.
Step Two: Individual Mound Treatments
Chemical. With dust products, no water is needed and they act fast.
However, they leave a surface residue. Liquid drenches generally eliminate
mounds within a few hours and leave little surface residue after application.
Granular products are relatively fast acting and usually require putting
granules on and around the mound and then sprinkling 1 to 2 gallons of
water on without disturbing the mound. Closely follow directions on the
label.
Look for products containing these active ingredients for chemical control
(see FINDING THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN PESTICIDES below):
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Organophosphates (acephate) - These products interfere with nerve
cell transmission. They are relatively quick killing and are formulated
as aerosols, liquids, dusts (Ortho® Orthene® Fire Ant Killer or
Surrender Fire Ant Killer) or granules. They can be applied as mound
treatments or surface treatment. Follow label directions.
Fipronil 0.0143% - Topchoice® Insecticide or Taurus™ G insecticide
granules. Takes 3-6 weeks for full effect, but VERY long true residual
activity. May observe control for a year, particularly on clay soils.
Expensive when compared to the use of fire ant baits. Use in high
traffic areas or where long term control is needed. No agricultural
uses. The Topchoice or Taurus G product are restricted pesticides and
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not available through usual retail outlets.
Spinosad (0.5% liquid) - considered all natural or “organic.” Has a fire
ant mound drench statement on label. Available from The Scotts
Company, Ferti-lome or Bonide (Captain Jack’s Dead Bug). Scott’s
Green Light® Lawn & Garden Spray is OMRI® listed meaning it is
approved for use in organic gardens. Spinosad is a biopesticide made
from naturally-occurring soil microbes. The final product contains no
living microbes.
Amdro Fire Strike Mound Treatment (0.36% hydramethylnon + 0.25%
s-methoprene) - A single package for homeowner for application to
individual mounds at 2-5 level tablespoons/mound. Not to exceed 2
lb/acre. May be used in corrals and other animal holding areas, NOT
for use in hay pastures or where livestock used for food or feed
production is grazed.
Organic. Pouring 2 to 3 gallons of very hot or boiling water on the mound
will kill ants about 60% of the time. Otherwise, the ants will probably just
move to another location. Very hot or boiling water will kill the grass or
surrounding vegetation that it is poured upon. Other natural or organic
methods include mound drench products containing plant derived
ingredients (e.g. botanical insecticides) and biological control agents.
Look for products containing these active ingredients for a more “natural”
or “organic” method of control:
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D-limonene – an extract of citrus peels that can be used to control fire
ants and some other insects. Can be found in several mound drench
products (e.g., Orange Guard Fire Ant Control, Safer® Brand Fire Ant
Killer).
Spinosad (0.5% liquid) - considered all natural or “organic.” Has a fire
ant mound drench statement on label. Available from The Scotts
Company, Ferti-lome or Bonide (Captain Jack’s Dead Bug). Scott’s
Green Light® Lawn & Garden Spray is OMRI® listed meaning it is
approved for use in organic gardens. Spinosad is a biopesticide made
from naturally-occurring soil microbes. The final product contains no
living microbes.
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Pyrethrins + Diatomaceous Earth - Pyrethrins are naturally-occuring
toxins extracted from certain plants, usually chrysanthemums or
African Daisy. Diatomaceous Earth is a soil-like substance containing
Diatoms – single-celled organisms whose cell walls are made of silicon
dioxide (silica is the main component of glass). As a result, when
small insects crawl through the Diatoms, their bodies are cut in many
places, as if walking through glass shards. Usually a powder that can
be applied dry or wetted. This type of product is available from Diatect
(Results Fire Ant Killer) or Organic Solutions (Multipurpose Insecticide)
NOTE:
Pyrethroids are not recommended for fire ant contact control. Pyrethroids
may suppress foragers, but may not kill the colony. Often, repeated
applications are necessary to achieve some level of colony control. This uses
a large volume of insecticide, thus, beneficial insects may be affected. Other
products like the fipronil granule product are applied at sub-lethal rates and
effects on other insects is minimal.
Recognizing pyrethroids:
Pyrethroid common names always end in either -thrin or -ate.
Examples:
permethrin, cyfluthrin or esfenvalerate, allethrin, resmethrin.
Notice the common suffixes -thrin and -ate? The only tricky thing to
remember is that the common name pyrethrins (note the plural form) still
refers to the original plant-derived mixture from the chysanthemum flowers.
Many organic gardeners accept the use of pyrethrins on their crops because
this product is organically derived, but there is nothing natural about
pyrethroid insecticides. If you wish to garden organically, don’t confuse
pyrethroids with pyrethins (or the older term, pyrethrum).
FINDING THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN PESTICIDES
When looking for the Active Ingredient in pesticides, consult the front of the
label. There should be a small square of information such as the example
below that includes the common name of the active ingredient (in the
example below, Permethrin) as well as the true chemical name of the
active ingredient (in the example below, [*3-Phenoxyphenyl) methyl (+)
cis/trans 3-(2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate]).