How to Eliminate Fire Ants?

What are Fire Ants?

Fire ants are pests that devour any plant or animal material and their bites are very painful, often resulting in an anaphylactic shock. You may end up spending thousands of dollars to clean out the house interior if fire ants infest your home’s electrical system. Fire ants are found in rural and urban areas alike and are known to repeatedly return to the site after being flushed out. 

Fire ants infestation can be easily identified if you see a mound of soil, similar to an ant hill, but with no opening in the center. This is because fire ants, unlike normal ants, enter and exit their mound through underground tunnels. To make sure that the mound is actually a fire ant hill, experts recommend you to wear heavy-duty boots and gently kick the mound. If you see ants scurrying out of it, then it clearly shows a fire ant infestation. 

If you notice fire ant infestation in your home, yard or property it is time to take immediate action to eliminate them.

How to Eliminate a Small Fire Ant Infestation?

If you have only one or two anthills you can eliminate them quicker. To do this, you need to pour boiling water over the anthill so that the water seeps inside properly. This is a natural treatment and works effectively to eliminate small fire ant infestations. Make sure to do this in the early morning as this is the time when fire ants are active near the surface of the anthill.

Remember, pouring hot water to eliminate fire ants may work to get rid of around 60% of the ant population. This creates the risk of the survivors to return and reestablish their colony. 

How to Eliminate a Large Fire Ant Infestation?

You can eliminate large fire ant infestations using fire ant bait. This is a two-step method and is recommended highly by pest control experts. Using this method, you can effectively eliminate medium to large sized fire ant infestations. This method is most effective to get rid of five or more fire anthills. 

The first step is to spread fire ant bait that has soybean oil, mixed with insecticide. The worker ants begin to carry the bait granules back to the anthill, where it is shared with the queen. The queen usually dies or becomes infertile. Fire ant baits work slower and may require a few weeks to months to work but this method has 90% effective in removing fire ants. 

The second step requires you to focus on heavy-traffic areas on your property, and spread the anthills directly with insecticide dust, liquid mound drenched or granular insecticide. 

How to Eliminate Fire Ants around your Home?

Fire ants continuously forage for food and moisture. This constant foraging often brings them into the house and the areas surrounding it, especially the yard or garden. There are several reasons that may compel fire ants to infiltrate into your home and each has a unique way to get rid of fire ants, such as:

• Poor sanitation – Make sure to clean spilled food and drinks and store food in air-tight containers. You should also keep trash cans away from the house.
• Poor construction practices – Fire ants can also infiltrate into your home from poorly sealed windows, gaps, cracks and crevices under walls and holes for electrical wiring and plumbing. You should fill these gaps, cracks and holes to prevent fire ants from entering. 
• Moisture problems – Fire ants need moisture and are attracted to leaks within the home. Make sure that the exterior taps are not leaking and your roof drains properly. 
• Plants – Indoor plants also attract fire ants extensively. If you move any plant indoors make sure to check that the plant and the pot have not become home to a fire anthill. 
• Pet food – Fire ants are also attracted to pet food, so make sure to feed your pets away from the house as often as you can, clean up the leftovers and make sure to store the pet food in air-tight containers. 
• Mulch – Mulch is another attraction for fire ants because it is moist and is undisturbed for long periods of time. The deeper the mulch mound, the more likely the chances of a fire anthill in it. To prevent fire ants from entering your home make sure to keep mulch structures away from the house. You can also add a crushed stone barrier around the house to prevent fire ant infestation in your home.

How to Eliminate Fire Ant Infestation from Indoors?

Fire ants often shift to indoor spaces to forage for food and moisture during the hot and dry summer months. You may find entire ant colonies living within the wall voids and behind large kitchen appliances. These ants can be a nuisance to pets, bed-ridden and sleeping family-members. 

To eliminate fire ant infestation indoors, you should use an insecticide which is labeled for use indoors specifically and is registered to control fire ant infestation. You can follow the trail of the worker ants to find the indoor fire ant colony. Once you find the infested spot, you can use contact insecticide spray or dust to eliminate the infestation. 

How to Eliminate Fire Ant Infestation from Garden?

Fire ants may sting you while pulling out weeds. If this happens, it is time to get rid of the ant colony. To do this, you can simply shovel the entire fire ant mount out of the garden. You can also pour boiling water over individual mounds. You can even use contact insecticide which is registered for controlling fire ant infestation, especially created for use in gardens. Besides this, you can also use fire ant bait by spreading it outside the perimeter of the garden. 

 Apart from this, you can also use organic fire ant repellents, such as products that contain boric acid or diatomaceous earth. These options are effective for eliminating fire ants but do not destroy their colony. 

Conclusion

Fire ant infestation can be easily eliminated using boiling water, special fire ant bait, insecticide and filling any cracks, crevices and gaps you may see on walls or floors. If the fire ant infestation is too large, it is highly recommended to call in professional pest control, such as Eden to effectively eliminate fire ant infestation from your home, garden and anywhere on the property.