Gentlemen, we want to eliminate fire ants from approximately 15 acres to promote a carnival. This will cover both people areas and parking areas. Will Viper work?
Viper is CYPERMETHRIN and indeed will work for fire ant control. I recommend drenching any fire ant mounds you see now as explained in our FIRE ANT CONTROL article. After all visible mounds are drenched and shut down, broadcast the Cypermethrin over as much of the 15 acres as possible. This treatment will be quick acting and should exterminate any unwanted insect activity for at least a few weeks if not longer. Cypermethrin goes a long way. 1 gallon of concentrate can treat over 8 acres so plan on using 2 gallons for broadcasting a spray. The amount you'll need for drenching individual mounds will depend on how many mounds you need to treat. But with a little effort, you should be able to get the entire area fire ant free in no time. If you have further questions, please give us a call on our toll free at 1-800-877-7290.
My sister said she was stung by fire ants when she lived in Texas. She has been out of Texas for almost 6 months now. She claims that the fire ants left their stingers in her legs. She says she is still removing the stingers. Is the so? Do the fire ants leave their stingers in their victims when they sting, and if so,would they still be in her legs after all this time?
Fireants are similar to wasps in that they have stingers which can deliver a toxin which can irritate the skin. As explained in our FIREANT CONTROL ARTICLE, they are able to sting over and over like wasps because their stinger does not "release" or stay in the skin. This does happen with many species of bees, like honey bees, because their stinger is barbed like a fish hook. But fireants do not have this barb so it's generally not going to happen. This is also why they are such a menace; their ability to sting over and over is one of their strong points making them more of a problem when encountered since they have a never ending stream of stings that even one ant is able to inflict.
Now could a fireant stinger get lodged in her skin? Yes. But is it likely that more than one would at the same time? No. And even if one did, it would quickly break down and disappear within a few days and not be present after 6 months.
My guess is that she has some other insect sting lodged in her skin or maybe even some type of plant. There are many briar type plants which have barbed tips which enable them to both pierce the skin and remain lodged under it for some time. The list of possibilites is too long for this post. And if she is still being bothered at this time she needs to go visit a dermatologist who will be able to remove any foreign matter that's present as well as provide some kind of ointment which would make any discomfort manageable.
I have a large fireant mound in my front yard that just appeared. I knew they were in the region but have never had any on my property. How can I treat it so they don't sting my family and what can I do to make sure they don't come back?
Fireants are persistent and tough. If this is your first attempt at treating a mound, I suggest you first read our on line article about FIREANT CONTROL. As you'll learn, one of the fastest ways to control any mound is by directly treating. This should be done by drenching. This way the ants can't relocate.
The best product to use for drenching is our CYPERMETHRIN. It's quick acting, easy to mix and easy to apply. Just follow the directions explained in our article and you'll be able to safely kill that mound in minutes.
Once you've treated the mound, let it settle and dry before you proceed on to step two. This next step is what you should start doing once every 2-3 months to insure no new ants build mounds in your yard. For this treatment, you'll use some MAXFORCE GRANULES lightly applied on top of the grass. Foraging ants in your turf will find it, eat it and die. Applications can last 1-2 months and should prevent new colonies from being established.
I'm about to apply the maxforce granules in my yard and I'm wondering how do you spread 1oz. over 1800 square feet? I"ve read your fireant control article and did the drenching which worked great. Now I want to stop new ant mounds from appearing so I want to apply this stuff properly.
If you ordered the 10 oz or 6 lb jar you'll notice the top has a flip lid. One side is for bulk applications but the other side has small holes through which only a slight amount will flow when "sprinkled". It's best to walk around tipping the jar ever so lightly so a "dash" comes out here and there. Though this might seem like nothing at all, to an ant every granule is a lot of food. If you monitor the level in the jars, you can gauge when you've applied the right dose as you move about sprinkling it out.
I'm looking for a good fire ant insecticide to treat some mounds in my yard. I don't want to bait them; I want a quick kill. Can your cypermetrin work for me?
Fire ant mound drenching is very effective. It will kill the entire colony quickly and it's easy to do as described in our fire ant control article. Use the Cypermethrin after creating some entry holes with our Staking Tool and you'll be able to kill the mound instantly.
I've got some kind of fire ant looking insect swarming in my kitchen. I'm afraid they could be termites since I know they like to swarm this time of year too. How can I tell the difference?
Ants and termites both generate swarmers or winged reproductives whose sole purpose is to leave an existing nest and then seek out new nest locations. These swarmers are trying to leave the existing nest and for the most part have just one thing on their mind: mate and start a new colony. There are several differences ant and termite swarmers but the one main difference is that ant swarmers will keep their wings – even in death. Termite swarmers will loose or drop off their wings. Furthermore, termites will appear to have bodies which are consistent from their head to their tail. Ant swarmers will look like a regular ant with very distinct body parts (3 segments) which are normally tapered. More details on these differences can be seen in this termite control article which features some video as well as a good explanation of the difference.
I am researching information re: killing fireants. I read through your article and watched the video. The only thing I can't find is whether or not this product is a concentrate or ready to use. In the article, I had the impression it is a concentrate. I don't know what the dilution rato is though to be able to order an appropriate amount.
We have an acre lot. We have had fire ant problems since the beginning of time here. If your product is a ready to use, and each mount takes 1/2 to 1 gallon of the VIPER CYPERMETHRIN 16 OZ, then we will need to research other products as there are way too many, and this would be way to costly, especially with the need to purchase stakes and baits for the most effective program. Then there would be repeated costs of treating an average of once a quarter.
Also, I read that the mound we see is really only a fraction of the size of the actual ant bed. When staking, how many holes would we punch? How far out would we need to punch from the mound?
I've looked at the "links" from our article to the Cypermethrin and was able to see the rate being shown to be 1 oz per gallon of water. This would be the "strong" mix. In most cases you can us as little as 1/2 oz per gallon. That means a gallon of concentrate would be able to treat 128-256 mounds and as you can see in our shopping cart, the cypermethrin gallon is much less costly than the smaller sized pint when you figure out the cost per oz. As a general rule, our larger sized products will prove to be the best "deal" and since our concentrates will keep for 5 years or more, the smart buy.
3-6 holes is plenty when using one of the staking tools we say to use in our article. And remember, the great thing about drenching is that the water will carry the chemical throughout all the tunnels and galleries of the mound so it will cover the whole thing well whether you know where the nest is or not. To insure this is true, I usually make the holes in a circle about the size of a Pizza Pie. I also try to "feel" the soil as I make the holes. If I send the mound is wide, I'll make extra holes to help get good coverage.
