Farm and Home
By Wade Parker County Extension Coordinator

NACAA

I was out of the office last week to attend the National Association of County Agricultural Agents meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I have to admit, Grand Rapids has us beat on weather. In the middle of the day the highs only reached the high seventies. However, it may be nice now, but think about what the winter is like! The meeting was very informative and useful. Even though Grand Rapids was nice, it is nice to be home.

Fire Ants

As I was cutting my grass this past Saturday, I mowed over several fire ant mounds. These ants were not the little black ones that cause a small sting; they were the big red ants. After I thought I destroyed them with the mower, these construction engineers moved right back into action. In other words, I returned a few hours later and the mound was built to completion.

Whether we like it or not, fire ants are unlikely to disappear from the face of the earth (even though we might wish it). With a little planning and a lot of persistence, though, they can disappear from your yard.

The planning is simple; making fire ants get out and stay out requires only two steps.The key, though, is persistence: this isn't a one-time treatment; it's a control program that takes determination.

The first step is to broadcast a bait insecticide over the entire area. Fire ant baits consist of pesticides on processed corn grits coated with soybean oil.

Two are readily available to homeowners (Amdro and Award). The best time to apply bait is in the spring or fall, although you can apply them anytime when ants are actively foraging for food.

For best results, use fresh bait and broadcast it when the ground and grass are dry. If you use a hand-held seed spreader, set the spreader at the smallest opening and make one or two passes over the lawn at a normal walking speed (the recommended rate is 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per acre).

The second step is to treat problem mounds with an approved product that kills the ants on contact. Treat these mounds no sooner than three days after you apply the bait. Treat only the mounds causing immediate problems, such as those next to high-traffic areas such as sidewalks, play equipment or building foundations.

Most mounds that get only the slower action bait will eventually be eliminated, and leaving bait-treated mounds may actually help keep new fire ant queens from reinfecting the area.

To get rid of fire ant mounds with chemicals, target the queen and brood (egg, larvae and pupae) inside the mound. Products such as acephate(Orthene), malathion and carbaryl(Sevin) are available as liquid concentrates for drenching fire ant mounds.

The best strategy to use with chemicals involves drenching mounds when the queens and brood are close to the surface (spring, fall, or after rain). Don't disturb the mound before you treat it.

Dilute the product to the labeled rate and then gently sprinkle the solution around and then on top of the mound. It usually takes one to three gallons of the diluted solution to properly treat a mound.

Several granular products are labeled to treat individual fire ant mounds. To apply one, sprinkle the recommended amount on top of and around the undisturbed mound. Then water it in.

Products containing acephate (Orthene) are specially labeled for dusting fire ant mounds. To apply these products, evenly distribute the recommended rate over the top of each mound. You don't have to water them in.

Products containing pyrethrin insecticides are made in aerosol containers with injection rods to reach deep inside the mound.

If you use this plan - broadcasting a bait, then treating problem mounds - expect greater than 90 percent of the fire ant mounds in the treated area to be gone within 10-12 weeks.

However, the area will become re-infested by mated fire ant queens within six to twelve months if you don't repeat the control programs on a regular schedule.

That's where the persistence comes in.

To keep the area free of fire ants, repeat the broadcast bait application every six months and then treat individual mounds as needed.

Always remember safety first! Just remember to be very careful when applying chemicals and do not get attacked by the ants.