CONTACT: Tim Davis, (803) 730-7956; tdvs@clemson.edu

DATE: 5/16/2007

WRITER: Tom Lollis, 803-284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

Warmer temperatures bring out fire ants again

CLEMSON – South Carolina’s warmer temperatures have brought red imported fire ants out of hiding once again.

That means it’s time to go looking for information on how to control the little stingers, and the materials with which to do it. Clemson University’s Tim Davis, Extension entomologist, has a website which would be a good place to start: http://entweb.clemson.edu/fireant.

“There you’ll find lots of good information – the background on fire ants, how to treat them, when to treat and links to lots of other sites on fire ants, like the new national eXtension web page at www.extension.org,” he said.

Baits are one of the most common ways to control fire ants, but applications can fail when they have been used incorrectly, according to Davis.

“Baits rely on the fire ants to pick the material up and take it back to their mounds, where it is added to the food system and fed to all colony members,” he said. “They don’t work if the ants aren’t foraging.”

Temperatures between 70° and 90° F are ideal for fire ants. On a nice, dry day put a small amount of bait in the area you want to treat. If fire ants are foraging, they will find your test material within 30 minutes. If they don’t, wait until another test shows the ants have taken the bait before treating the whole area.

“You’ll need 12 hours before rain is forecast or before you irrigate,” said Davis. “Baits don’t work when they are wet.”

Baits also need to be fresh. Most baits contain three components – an active ingredient, soybean oil as a carrier, and defatted corn grit as a matrix. If the oil goes rancid, the ants won’t pick it up. Baits don’t store well, so buy only the amount you will use at one time.

Several brands of baits are available. For commercial applicators they include, but are not limited to, Amdro, Awaard, Extinguish Plus, Esteem, Advion, Extinguish and Maxforce FC. Homeowner products include: Amdro Yard Treatment, Amdro, Amdro Pro, Amdro Fire Strike, and Once and Done.

An alternative to baits is a broadcast application of a granular insecticide. They can give up to a year or more of fire ant control, but are effective only in the area where they are applied. There are some limitations on where they can be used, so read the label carefully.

“These products seem to be friendly to desirable native ant species, while reducing the fire ant population by 95 percent or more,” said Davis. “They are more expensive than baits.”

Home owners may look for fipronil, which is the active ingredient in Over ‘n Out, or bifenthrin, which is the working ingredient in Ortho Max Fire Ant Killer Broadcast Granules.

“If you don’t have an internet connection, your local Clemson Extension office will be glad to print out fire ant control fact sheets for you free of charge,” said Davis.

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