Controlling Fire Ants Early In The Year

Posted on: Jan 06, 2023Luis M Pérez

Fire ants are red and black-colored ants that build ant mounds out of the soil in lawns, parks, schoolyards, and other areas where grass grows.

Why Are Fire Ants A Problem?

Fire ants are a problem because they are aggressive toward pets and humans and pose a big threat. Fire ants build mounds of dirt and soil in lawns and gardens. These mounds are used to protect their queen and the queen’s eggs. The worker ants build the mounds, protect the mounds and forage for food. If an ant mound is disturbed by a human, pet, or other animal, thousands of fire ants will appear immediately in an attempt to protect the colony, and they do so by biting and stinging. And because they are so vast, they can be very dangerous to people and animals, especially young children and small pets.

How To Protect Your Family And Pets From Fire Ants?

A lot of retailers and pest control companies apply mound treatments. However, we do not recommend this. A mound treatment is a spot treatment of a fire ant mound. The problem with this method is that these only control part of the colony, and the part that survives will just move to another spot in the yard, often closer to the home. It does not take long to rebuild the colonies’ population again. At Dr. Green, we recommend using a bait treatment instead. Fire ant baits work by spreading the product around the property. The foraging ants mistake this as food and bring it back to the colony to feed the rest of the fire ants, resulting in complete control of the entire colony.

When Should I Apply A Fire Ant Bait?

Fire ants start to become very active as temperatures start to warm up in spring. However, it takes a good 30-45 days for baits to start being effective. Therefore, we suggest applying bait early in the year, like in February. At. Dr. Green, we also guarantee our fire ant baits for one full calendar year.

Tips to follow

Start early. Treat your yard as soon as possible, well before populations appear.
Use a Bait Product. Baits formulated for fire ants will provide long-term control of the insect.
Treat the whole area. Fire ants tend to move and form large colonies, so treat the entire lawn for the best results.
Use proper application techniques. Follow the instructions on the product label to ensure proper and effective applications.
Use a company that is aware of your specific issues.

Questions or Concerns?

If you have questions about fire ants or anything else, please contact us at 1-800-465-2934 or email me at luisp@doctorgreen.com.