We may not realize it, but the fall can be the best time of year to control fire ants. Most of the time when things don’t bother us, we don’t take any action. This can also apply to controlling fire ants. In other words, this is usually not the time of year that we are outside in the yard or having picnics. However, as spring arrives, the picnics and other outside activities resume.

There are several reasons why now is a good time to control these fire ant colonies. During the summer, the ants are busy building the colonies and now they have reached their full peak. If you treat now, you are treating a full colony and not a partial one. Fire ants are also more active this time of year, while they are in the process of foraging and storing food. Actively foraging ants will pick up bait and carry it into the nest within the first hour or two. If the ants are inactive, the bait may not appeal to the ants by the time they find it. Ants exhibit this type of behavior when daytime temperatures are between 70-80 degrees.

In the cooler weather of fall, fire ants aren’t too deep in the ground. That makes them easier to kill with a mound-drench, granular, dust or aerosol contact insecticide. When you use those products, it’s critical to treat when the queen and brood are close to the surface.

Third, in the fall you’re treating when many fire ant colonies are very young. Fire ants mate all year long but they’re most actively mating in the spring, he said. Mated queens fly away and establish new colonies. By fall these colonies are well established, but still fairly small.

How do you treat for fire ants if you don’t know where they are?

Broadcasting fire ant bait is the first step in the ongoing program. Use fresh bait, he said, and apply it using the label directions. Never apply bait using a spreader that’s been used to spread fertilizer. Fertilizer can contaminate the smell of the bait. Use only a new spreader, dedicated only to the use of spreading fire ant bait.

Treat individual problem mounds with an approved contact product. Be sure to follow directions carefully. Misuse of pesticides, like fire ant control products, is a violation of federal law.

Next week we will discuss what to do if you get bit by one of these dangerous fire ants!

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