Commercial Products for Fire Ant Control

We are always interested in users' comments on how a product works. If you have any experience you would like to share, please contact us and sned your comments.

Home Defense

From William R. Little:  

I have found that HOME DEFENSE works just fine. It cost just $8.00 per gallon.

I knock the top of the mound off and give them a big squirt!

There is never any more activity at that mound.

Cheap - quick - effective.

I don't know if the whole underground colony is killed - but it seems they are.

Orthene Fire Ant Killer / Home Defense

From Steve Molnar:

Here is the method I have used successfully for years. It was taught me by a friend when we lived in Louisiana on 3 1/2 acres by a lake. Cost was a big factor because of the size of the property. We now live in Southeast Texas and I have taught it to all my neighbors and friends.

I take two pounds of fine corn meal and mix it with I cup of sugar and 10 TLBS of Orthene Fire Ant Killer. (It stinks.) In a container large enough to hold all of the above, I shake it up really well. On an average mound I sprinkle about 1 TLB, less on smaller mounds. It works great, however it seems to be more efficient in hot weather and I never put it out unless I know it will not rain for a day. In the winter I use Home Defense. My one acre property stays ant free most of the time because I stay on top of it.

Bayer Advanced Fire Ant Killer Dust

It has been reported to us that this product is quite effective. Put about a tablespoon full on a fairly large mound. If you go back in about 30-45 minutes (maybe an hour for a large mound), you should find handfuls of dead ants. It you dig up the mound, there should be no live ones left.

Fire Ant Bait

To avoid harming pets and children, poison fire ant bait must be used carefully inside the home and outside in the yard. Baits are insecticides that have been mixed with an ant attractant. Worker ants carry the bait back to the mound and share it with the colony and the queen. Although it is effective in killing the queen, baits may take several weeks before the colony finally dies off.

Avoid baits that will kill indigenous ants, as well as other nearby creatures.

Ants do not appreciate it when people dump things on their home. (Well, excuse me!) It's always good to remember when using an ant bait, not to dump the product directly on the mound or nest. Rather, broadcast it around and in other areas where ants are seen foraging for food.

From Al Barrs:

Beware of baits. Fire ants learn what they are and will simply move their colony away from the old mound and start over. If using baits keep changing the bait to keep the ants from escaping.

Drenches for Fire Ants

Mound drenches are insecticides diluted with water and then trickled down through the mound. They must come in contact with most of the ants, especially the queen, or they are not effective. Ants contacted by the drench die in less than 24 hours. It is best to use drenches in the spring and fall, when temperatures are between 70 and 85 F. In the hot summer months, ants stay deep in their mounds and are hard to reach with liquid insecticides.

Drenches should be used when there is a high risk of human contact or when fireants have invaded home lawns, school grounds, parks and other areas frequented by people.

From Al Barrs:

To kill mounds I use a hand pressure sprayer with a poison that will kill ants. I put grease on the wand up near the handle to keep ants from getting on my hand. I then spray all around the mound because workers and defenders will be hiding in the grass and leaves protecting the mound. Then I run the spraying wand down into the center of the mound into the large cavity below the highest point on the mound and spray for several seconds this will directly kill the queen or queens and the mound will die.