Fire Ants

Excerpts from Rick L. Brandenburg, Turfgrass Entomologis, North Carolina State University

The imported fire ant has move extensively across North Carolina in recent years and effective management is becoming a concern for more and more people each year. Fire ants have been causing problems literally since day one when they entered the United States near Mobile, Alabama around 60 years ago. The fire ant remains a serious pest in the Southeast United States. It now occupies well over 250 million acres. In North Carolina, the fire ant infestation covers 60 counties and counting.

Initiating a fire ant control program is a lifetime commitment. To back off of your long-term regular treatment schedule, once it has been initiated, is a sure-fire approach for the fire ants to return with a vengeance. There are two types of fire ant control methods. One is the broadcast application of a bait-formulated insecticide and the other is treatment of individual mounds with one of a variety of products and formulations.

Don't expect any miracle cures and don't expect fire ants just to go away. They are here to stay. Only through diligence, commitment to a sound program, and an understanding of the ants and the products we use to control then, can one be successful in the fight.