The concept of baiting fire ant mounds is to insure the queen or queens are killed. Only then will the nest be destroyed. Most baits are slow acting. When used to treat an existing mound, the scout and worker ants will bring the bait back to feed other members in the nest. This includes nurse ants, larva and the queen. In general, queen ants will not feed on new foodstuff until it is deemed safe. To qualify, the food is first eaten by certain members of the colony. If they don't die, the reproductives (queens) will consume some. The problem with the concept of baiting is that most colonies are able to replace reproductives should they die. Very rarely does any one bait infiltrate the entire colony so that it dies off completely. Though it may appear to have died, most times it has only gone quiet for awhile as it rebounds from the baits effects. This can be seen when mounds "come back to life" a few weeks after it appeared they were dead. Another common sign of ant bait failure is when mounds start appearing within 10 feet of the first mound that was treated. Mound relocation is very common with Fire Ants since they will quickly relocate when they feel threatened. Ant baiting has a tendency to alarm the colony when members start dying. This reaction generally causes them to relocate. If you have current mounds you want to kill immediately, forget baiting. Use the Drenching procedure described below for any current mounds you want to eliminate. However, baiting does have it's place. Use bait when you want to pretreat the common ground so that you don't get fire ants. By applying the bait over the turf and flower beds, you will be able to kill off mounds as they start. The first generation of the nest will be very aggressive and during this time ant bait works well. We have found one brand of FIRE ANT GRANULES that work very well. They use a strong protein base which fire ants love and will readily gather. Once brought back to the nest the bait will infiltrate and kill it within a week. KEEP IN MIND THIS BAIT WORKS BEST FOR NEW NESTS WHICH ARE VERY SMALL AND BARELY NOTICEABLE. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE THE MOUND, YOU WILL BE BEST BY USING THE DRENCHING TECHNIQUE DESCRIBED BELOW. Most new nests are never noticed when this product is used. Apply it every three months to insure you have the common ground properly treated and protected. Once in place, fire ant swarmers which find their way onto your property will feed on some and die off. Nests won't form and generally you can live without the hassle or inconvenience of being stung or having to do extensive Drenching applications.

Another preventive application we know works well is to use some CYFLUTHRIN GRANULES as a pretreatment. Use one of our GRANULE SPREADERS to apply the material. Though similar looking to standard Diazinon or Dursban type granules, these work a lot better and last a lot longer. If you are going to use this type of product in the yard, don't waste your time with the old type active, get this newer and stronger chemcial which works great. This compound is new and seems to be very active against Fire Ants. It both repels them and kills them - something traditional granules don't do. This is what makes Cyfluthrin a good granule that can be dispersed in and around the yard for preventive treatments. The author prefers the Cyfluthrin Granules over the bait because they work on just about any insect found in the yard. Treatments done quarterly with this product will prevent any mounds from forming. This is certainly the strongest treatment available so if you have small children and/or pets and are worried about such product use, stick with the bait.

If you have active mounds which are both visible and easy to access, the preferred treatment process is called "staking and drenching". The author prefers this method for most situations because it is both quick and direct. It will kill ant colonies immediately and avoids the problem of nest relocation.

Mound drenching is instant, effective and easy. When drenching was first tried, products like dursban and diazinon were used and nest relocation was a problem. In the late 1980's, CYPERMETHRIN became available. This active ingredient is deadly on ants. Cypermethrin works instantly. Ants do not stand a chance. If you want a contact kill, you must "stake and drench" using Cypermethrin. First, mix your chemical in a bucket or one of our SPRAYERS. The Author likes using the 3 gallon Pull Along when treating a lot of mounds; the 1.5 gallon will suffice for small jobs. When using the sprayer, remove the whole nozzle at the end of the spray wand so that the chemical will flow out much like a faucet. This allows you to soak the mound quickly which prevents the ants from scurrying away. The average nest requires 1/2 to 1 gallon of finished product applied in order to get a complete kill. Second, use a pick ax or piece of rebar to stake the mound. If you have a lot of mounds to treat, get one of our STAKING TOOLS. This 4 Foot Rod with a T-Handle gives you a lot of leverage for getting holes poked quickly and deeply. Another option is to use an EARTH AUGER to create the holes. It connects to any standard drill and will make perfect drenching holes. Be sure to have all your chemical mixed and ready to apply because once you start staking, the ants will start moving! Third, immediately pour the chemical into the holes. Pour deliberately allowing the chemical to penetrate the mound insuring the queens will be killed. Apply slowly and evenly to prevent runoff and remember not to panic; expect to see a lot of ants running around but within a few minutes the whole mound will be completely dead.

If you only have a fire ant mounds to treat or if you want something available which is easier to use then the Cypermethrin, get the FIRE ANT KILLING AEROSOL. This product is highly active on fireants and will kill them on contact when applied to the mound. Use a FIRE ANT WAND which attaches to the Fire Ant Killer can and be sure to have adequate holes for doing the treatment. The Staking Tool is perfect for this job. For most mounds, you will need to stake 5-10 holes. Next, simply take the Aerosol with the wand attached and slide the wand down the holes spraying as you go. Try to get 1-3 seconds of spray per hole so for the average nest, you will need to release 10-15 seconds of aerosol. This will kill them on contact and provide residual which means that as eggs hatch, they too will die. The Aerosol is OK for use when you have limited number of fireant mounds to treat but will prove much more costly compared to using the Cypermethrin. For this reason it is advised that you use the Cypermethrin when you have large areas needing treatment otherwise be prepared for the extra cost of the Aerosol.

Though most ants will die during the treatment, there is a chance stray ants may relocate or be a nuisance in the home. If you are experiencing a lot of these "rogue" fireants throughout the house, place ADVANCE BAIT STATIONS where these ants are active. Advance uses two attractants (one that is mostly sugar based and one mostly protein based) so they are sure to attract foraging ants. Since they won't have access to food (now that their nest is dead) they will readily eat the bait and die off quickly. To insure no rogue ants find their way into the home at all, mix up 1 ounce of the Cypermethrin in one of the sprayers we list and apply the whole gallon prior to treating the mounds. This preventive application will assure none can relocate into the home. Such applications will work well if done throughout the year to stop all pests from entering as well and is a good maintenance program for keeping the home pest free.

Mounds which are drenched should be left alone for one day. After this time you can level them and go about using the turf 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 it less than 10 feet down. Furthermore, children and pets can enter treated areas once the surface of the mound is dry though we always recommend they watch for some of the rogue ants which will be irritated and active for another day or so.

Fire ants can be a problem where young children and pets want to play. To minimize risk of Fire Ant stings, apply either the Fire Ant Granule Bait or the Cyfluthrin Granules once a quarter. Either will prevent nests from forming and keep common ground free and clear of this aggressive ant. If you need to treat fire ant stings, use some of our Bite Ointment for both quick relief of the irritation and help in promoting faster healing. Current mounds which you know are active need to be Staked and Drenched with our Cypermethrin for immediate control.

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