If you have an ant mound teeming with ants on your property, then you have probably concocted some loose plan for ridding yourself of your fire ant problem. These pests make unsightly mounds wherever they deem fit, and if you disturb them, prepare to get far away or get stung. Getting rid of fire ants does not always have a permanent success rate, but it should take over a year for a fire ant population to recover (if it is going to).
Just because you have an ant hill doesn’t mean you have fire ants. Fire ant mounds typically don’t have holes in the top, as the ants enter from underground tunnels that extend to water during dry conditions. Fire ants may be a reddish or black color, and they have an identifiable elbow in each antennae. If you want to find out what type of fire ants you have, you can collect 20 to 30 of them and send them in to your local extension office. Watch out! When you are collecting fire ants, they will sting you if they get on your skin. Typical stings result in blisters, but they can result in anaphylaxis if the allergic reaction is bad enough. Each mound may house hundreds of thousands of ants, so try not to disturb the mound.
There are multiple pesticides available to combat fire ants. Fire ant bait can be broadcast around the mound, and it will be picked up by the ants and brought back to the nest. Orthene and Amdro have been effective pesticides, but sometimes a second application is necessary.
If you want to go the organic route, which is especially important if your fire ant mound is near any waterways, there are options. Hot water has been effective in causing ant populations to relocate, and diatomaceous earth has been effective but not in the removal of the queen. There are multiple organic pesticides on the market that are also recommended to rid yourself of fire ants.
Why get rid of fire ants in the fall? Well, fire ants are most active in the spring and fall, which means they aren’t deep in the ground. They also actively look for food in the fall, so they will pick up the bait more quickly than during other times of the year. The best time in fall to spread the bait is when the temperatures during the day are between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
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