Eliminating Fire Ants From Your Yard

If you live in the southern half of the United States, you are probably all too familiar with the problems that fire ants can cause. Not only do these pests leave behind a nasty bite if you accidentally step on one of their mounds, but they can also make it impossible for you to enjoy your yard or plant a successful vegetable garden. Thankfully, there are many different ways you can go about controlling the fire ant population in your yard.

Apply Bait

Fire ant bait is one of the most effective ways to control these pests over the long term. While this type of pesticide can be applied to each individual ant mound, choosing to treat your entire yard will offer better results.

Before applying ant bait to your yard, be sure to read the packaging thoroughly to ensure you are familiar with the proper distribution method for your particular product. In most cases, the instructions that accompany these products will require you to use a fertilizer spreader to evenly distribute the product throughout your entire yard. If you do not have access to this equipment or if your yard is simply too large to treat on your own, contacting a lawn service company like Sound Landscape Professionals to aid in the application process can help to ensure you see the best results.

Since bait products rely on worker ants to carry the bait (poison) back to their nest in order to effectively kill the entire colony, it can take several days or even weeks to see results using these products. Consequently, while the use of bait will provide you with results that last several months, these products may not be right for you if you are looking to quickly eradicate these pests from your yard for an upcoming event.

Drench The Mound

If you prefer a treatment option that attacks the mounds directly rather than treating your entire yard, using a drench product may be your best option. These products combine the use of liquid pesticides with the drowning power of water.

In order to properly use a drench product, you will need to dilute the pesticide in approximately one gallon of water and pour the entire gallon directly over an active mound. This process will need to be completed for each active mound in your yard.

While the sheer volume of the water will kill all of the ants that are above ground, the pesticides will travel deep into the underground foraging tunnels used by the ants in order to kill the rest of the colony. In many cases, the proper use of these products can eliminate a mound in as little as a single day.

In Conclusion

Fire ants can be one of the most difficult pests to eliminate from your yard. While the do-it-yourself methods outlined above will be effective in many cases, they may not be enough to battle a serious infestation. If you find that these products are not enough to get rid of the fire ants in your yard, contacting a professional lawn service company will be your best bet.


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