Pest Control 101 > Treating for Ants

Fire Ants

Also see Small Ants and Carpenter Ants

Most people in the South know what a Fire ant mound looks like. There are different species, and not all Fire ants are red. They don't bite, instead they actually sting. Fire ant stings are painful and can take days to weeks to heal.

When colonies become established around buildings, picnic areas, sitting areas, and playgrounds, your children and pets may encounter these ants. These encounters may lead to pets and children getting stung.

DRENCHING should be done when you currently have active nests which need to be eliminated immediately. This is generally what you should do when people or pets are either threatened or have gotten stung by existing Fire ant mounds. Drenching will kill ant colonies immediately and avoids the problem of nest relocation.

To treat the Fire ant mound:

1. Begin by first diluting Cypermethrin concentrate in a bucket. The average nest requires 1/2 to 1 gallon of finished product. The brand name on the bottle may vary, but the active ingredient will always be Cypermethrin.
   
   
2. Next, use a stick to create a passage for the Cypermethrin to flow into the mound.
   
   
3. Be sure to have the Cypermethrin mixed and ready to apply because once you create the passage, the ants will start moving!
   
   
4. Pour slowly and deliberately allowing the chemical to penetrate the mound. Within a few minutes the whole mound will be completely dead.

Mounds which are drenched should be left alone for one day. After this time you can level them and go about using the yard for whatever you want.

The treatment poses no hazard to grazing animals like horses or cattle since all the material seeps into the soil. And you don't have to worry about local water sources which may come from the ground unless the water table is less than 10 feet down.

Children and pets can enter treated areas once the surface of the mound is dry although we always recommend they watch for some of the rogue ants which will be irritated and active for another day or so.

BAITING is the best preventive treatment and if done 3-4 times a year, no new nests will be able to form. We recommend Maxforce Fire Ant Granular Bait for preventive baiting. A 2 pound container will cover 1.5 acres. We offer a Granule Spreader to evenly distribute the bait.

Finally, if you are seeing Fire ants in your house, place Maxforce FC Ant Bait Stations where these ants are active.

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