Are you worried about how to get rid of fire ants? Here you will find out which methods are effective and which ones aren’t, we’ll bust some myths about traditional treatment and will nominate 7 fast and highly effective fire ant control products. Get ready, as this article is packed! In order to understand all of the aspects and do the best job, we found out what the entomologists from the top US Universities think about fire ant control.
They spread as fast as fire. Their name though is related not to their speed, but to the effect of their sting which, according to the Schmidt sting pain index, is considered to be as painful as exposure to an open flame. They can be very dangerous so don’t hesitate practice caution.
The scientists agree that fire ants are very difficult to eliminate completely, but are quite easily manageable. It is the combination of chemical and non-chemical (i.e. timely disposal of the food and keeping the house and the garden clean) and treatment that helps to get rid of the ants in the places where they are most dangerous and to reduce the invasion to a bearable level everywhere else.
How to Get Rid of Fire Ants:
Let’s give a brief review of what the scientists advise us for getting rid of fire ants.
The scientists distinguish two types of fire ants chemical killing: treatment of the mound and treatment of the surrounding territory, including your house in case the ants managed to get inside.
The experts advise treating the mound with liquid insecticide products, as according to them, they are extremely effective when it’s hot and dry. They can be poured into the mound with the help of a special tube or straight inside. Such methods are effective enough, but they won’t help you kill the queen and thus destroy the entire colony.
Treating the territory surrounding the mound implies spraying liquid insecticides and spreading insecticide granules, dusts & poison gel bait.
To understand the operation of the above mentioned product types, you also need to be aware of how certain synthetic chemicals affect fire ants:
Gel and liquid baits are considered to be the most effective means of getting rid of fire ants as the insects do not merely die after having come into contact with the insecticide, but they also spread the poison in the mound as they share the bait with each other and, most importantly, the queen. The only thing that you have to bear in mind is that there will be no instant effect, and the ants will be dying slowly. The scientists recommend being alert when using fire ants like that and placing the bait around the mound in the evening, when the temperature is in the range of 70-90° F. Also remember to renew the bait regularly.
There are two best sellers and most popular baits, one of them is slow-acting Terro borax-based, 5,4% product, the other is quick-acting Advion indoxacarb-based, 0.05% product.
How does this bait work? You have to place several plastic plates near the places where there are lots of ants, or ant trails. As a rule, the insects have 1 or 2 most used routes around the house, where you can lure them. Fire ants will crawl into the trap, drink the bait and return to their nest where they will contaminate dozens of other ants. Moreover, with the help of this pheromone trail, the ant will let others know about the sweet treat, which means they will also head to the trap. That should last until the colony is completely exterminated, since the poison will affect even the queen.
The manufacturers though advise being patient. You won’t see any results on the first day or even after a week of use; this is a weapon of slow action. It is gradual contamination that ensures effective extermination of the colony.
People consider Terro to be more effective than the competitors’ analogs, though they criticize it for slow effect. That’s why the users don’t advise removing the trap after the ants leave your house. Another advice from experienced customers is to pour new liquid more often, if there are too many ants. Some even recommend doing this once a week, though the official manual claims that the liquid lasts for 3 months. It seems that everything depends on the quantity of insects at your place.
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It is sweet, odorous and it draws ants actively. The idea of its functioning resembles the boric acid. An ant contaminates with poison the entire colony, and all other insects including the queen are killed. In this case the chemicals in use are more effective than boric acid, and the attractant is also very strong as it draws the insects like a magnet.
Some experienced users recommend making foil or other moisture absorbent traps. Even if you run out of everything, you can simply re-apply thin layers of this gel. You can also pour it straight into the slots which are infested by the insects or leave some dough or bread balls covered with this gel.
Of course, the best course of action is placing this bait on the ant trail or near the entrance to their nest. After that you should be patient and wait for the poisoned ants to their job. Please don’t prevent them from eating and getting poisoned.
Here are some tips from the product’s fan:
We have barely found any complaints on this bait. The only thing which was questioned by the consumers which was the toxicity of this product (it is way more toxic than others and is labeled for use on noncrop areas), but this is the price you pay for high effectiveness and comfort.
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Now we’ll talk about about pyrethroid and fipronil based products. It is best to apply them together with the baits which would kill the queen and therefore the entire colony (as you remember, it is a long process).
This deltamethrin-based product has several advantages. First of all, the manufacturer promises that it serves as a repellent for 8 months. Second, it may exterminate other insects, such as boxelder bugs, cockroaches, crickets, firebrats, spiders, ticks, wasps and silverfish.
Its main advantage is that it’s waterproof and can be used both indoors and outdoors. The product won’t get washed away by the rain as the chemicals it contains are water repellent.
There are 2 ways of using this poisonous dust. You can either fill the mound with it, or sift the risk areas, such as trees, walls or ant trails etc. One pound of the product is enough for 2000 sq. ft.
All in all, we recommend you to be careful with this substance, and to obviously use a respirator and other protective equipment when working with it.
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Granules are an alternative to dust, but scientists recommend to apply them only for small areas. Their functioning is pretty similar: you have to sift the anthill and the ant trails with the granules. You can also solve them in the water and thus make a liquid insecticide.
But the feedback on this product is contradictory as it helps some to get rid of the fire ants, and for others it restrains them temporarily. The manufacturer promises that the insect control effect will last for a season (i.e. 3 months), but one of the users refutes this statement: in his case the ants were gone right after the granules were sprinkled around the house… and came back after 1.5 months to build an anthill even closer to the house! Is 1.5 months a long time is up to you to decide. Once again, we’ll remind you that being typical fast killers, the granules only kill the ants on the surface, so make sure you use them together with the baits in order to kill the queen which is able to give birth to thousands of fire ants to combat!
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A single packet dissolved in a gallon of water will be enough for spraying 2-2.5 thousand sq. ft. You can use an aerosol or other sprays for this purpose. First, the ants are poisoned, and then the chemical continues to work as a repellent for 90 days (all dusts work in this manner too). You can use it both indoors and outdoors, but make sure you wear protective clothing when spraying it around.
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This stuff is serious business. Word to the wise. Please ensure you wear protective gear for this stuff is not good for skin and nasal passages.
Such effectiveness serves an extra reminder for taking protective measures to anyone who wants to try this product out.
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As a rule, this product is used on farms or industrial plants, but it is also accessible to individuals. Not only do this liquid poison kills the ants, it also serve as repellents for about 2-3 months.
You need to dissolve Taurus SC with 9.1 % Fipronil in the water. You get 25 liters of the insecticide out of 20 oz of the concentrate. If you’re doing it right, it will kill any insect: Taurus is powerful enough to exterminate termites too. For applying this product, you’ll need a regular garden sprayer, such as Chapin 20000 1-Gallon Lawn and Garden Sprayer (Check the current price).
Proper spraying of the mound will help you get rid of the whole colony within a week or two. Theoretically, you can simply pour the product inside the mound, but in this case the queen may flee and then return later in order to build a new nest. Slow contamination, on the other hand, will give a 100% effective result.
We don’t advise using Taurus indoors. Simple spraying around the perimeter of the building and the garage will be enough for protecting your house.
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So, what are the fire ants attracted by? The answer is food. They spend most of their life in search of food, therefore, it is necessary to eliminate anything that can attract the fire ants to your place:
Summarizing!
The authorities and the scientists are inventing new environment-friendly methods in this sphere. They try to exterminate the ants with fungi, nematodes and other insects. But the results of these studies are not known yet. Note that it’s better to use professional help when it comes to destroying colonies in difficult locations. The same applies to some especially large mounds or “networks of colonies.” But you can handle yourself smaller mounds. Use various products, combine them and you’ll definitely win the fight.
| Photo | Product | Brief Description | Price |
| | TERRO | A trap with liquid poisonous bait inside for indoor use. The effect is strong, though you’ll have to wait for it. | (2-pack) |
| | Advion | This is a versatile liquid gel attractant for fire ants. It is to be used with a trap, it should be poured into the slots inhabited by the ants and along their trails. | |
| | TERRO Dust | At first it kills, and then repels fire ants for 8 months. It’s waterproof and also exterminates other insects. | |
| | Ortho | Granules should be sifted on the mound and along the trails. Best if used as a supplementary control product. | |
| | Demon Wp – Envelope | An insecticide powder to be dissolved in the water: one envelope is enough for 2-2.5 thousands sq.ft. At first it kills the bugs, and then it works as a repellent for 3 months. | (4 packets) |
| | Taurus SC with 9.1 % Fipronil | It is supposed to be dissolved in the water. Spraying it around will help exterminate an entire ant colony within a week or two. It is very poisonous, for outdoor use only. | |
| | Bifen XTS Concentrate | It can kill an entire ant or termite colony. It is very toxic, for outdoor use only. |
There is plenty of traditional treatment of fire ants, and perhaps you’ve heard about some of them from your neighbors or read about them online. Certain people recommend pouring boiled water, vinegar, bleach or even urine over the anthill, others claim that the oats sipped onto the mound helped them get rid of the fire ants. Do all these tricks work? Below we’ve tried to find an answer to this question together with the scientists.
Fire ants’ nests are small and you can simply dig them out. This isn’t an easy job though, and it doesn’t guarantee you anything. The scientists have found that the queen can flee deeper into the ground through the passages that were dug earlier. In this case the mound will be back where it used to be in a couple of weeks. So use liquid nitrogen and boiling water. The former is not easy to buy, though, and the latter may not reach the queen.
Boiling the mound is the only more or less efficient traditional treatment methods (although, there are certain peculiarities to be taken into account). Other traditional tips, such as using vinegar and oats and others are USELESS. The most effect you’ll have is that the colony will flee elsewhere (perhaps it will relocate merely somewhere else at your place) or inside your house in search of a new place to nest in. Even DE is ineffective here! The Arkansas scientists not that there the orange peels cause “some repellent effect” which is still a poor consolation.
Boiled water can be indeed effective, but, as per the Florida University scientists, it is harmful for the environment as the hot water can burn the plants surrounding the mound and the ants can sting if in case they manage to crawl out. It is only recommended to use this method if you cannot for some reason use insecticides (we’ll talk about them later). However, it is still a temporary measure as it won’t help you kill the queen who will create a new nest with the surviving workers.
INTERESTING FACTS: Don’t pour cold water over the mound in an attempt to drown them. They don’t drown. Even when they find themselves in lots of water, they gather, form a sort of a raft and float to the next location.
The scientists claim that fire ants don’t take the cold well. The Florida specialists state that a fortnight at a temperature below 10° F will be enough “for the substantial number of ants to die” as they need moisture and warmth! For that very reason the invasions in the Northern states with harsh climate conditions are far less frequent than in the Southern ones.
There are different types of fire ants which are substantially different from each other. There are the so-called “native fire ants”, and also there exist Solenopsis Invicta who are red imported fire ants (also called RIFA or IFA). Tropical fire ants and southern fire ants (as well as some others) which inhabit the US are considered to be native fire ants. But it is the RIFA which are most dangerous.
Red imported fire ants are one of the world’s most dangerous ants. Their bites are extremely painful and can even be lethal for some. They pose the biggest threat to the life and agriculture of the US’ south-western states. This is related to the proximity of the Puerto-Rico and other Latin America countries border, as from these countries the terrible RIFA monsters came to North America and started breeding back in the 1930-40s. This happened (and is happening to this date) because such goods as plants and trees, ornamental plants, the earth, and beehives were transported. As the IPM Program confirms, this is the main channel of RIFA infestation, as they simply are moved and thus they begin multiplying in new areas.
How do you recognize such an ant? It’s a tiny brown-reddish insect, though some males can be black and red or even just black. The body of a fire ant looks like it has two hemispheres separated by a “waist”. An adult’s ant length varies from ⅛ of an inch to ¼ of an inch. ”… You would argue and ask how to tell apart RIFA from other ants, as tons of ant species fit this description. The chart below will help you identify them.
| Criterion | Native Fire Ants | RIFA |
| Color | As a rule, reddish-brown, even | Brown-red, black and red, the abdominal (last) segment is always darker than the rest of the body, it can be even black |
| Workers’ (who are the majority of the colony) body build | The colonies of such species as tropical fire ants have workers with disproportionately large square head | Workers are of different size, but the body parts are always proportionate |
| Behavior when attacked by humans or natural enemies | Aggressively stinging | Extremely aggressive. They go to the top of the mound and begin stinging. |
| Habitat | Are gradually replaced by the RIFA | Are the most spread fire ants species in the USA |
INTERESTING FACT: RIFA are so eager to conquer other territories. Their desire to settle in a foreign land is a hallmark of any fire ants species. Native fire ants, for instance, have become unbearable pests in India after they were accidentally brought there.
Now that we have learnt where the RIFA come from and how they are to be recognize, let’s turn to several facts which will help you kill these stinging monsters.
Read more about fire ant bites in our article: Fire Ant Bites: Hazard and Treatment
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