Four Tips on Pest Management of Fire Ants in Frisco, TX
The warm weather has come, and so has new fire ant mounds requiring pest management in Frisco, TX. Fire ants are annoying, painful, and often resilient. Fire ant control is next to impossible since their colonies cover a large area and can be very complex. Fortunately, there are methods for controlling them; here are four tips on controlling fire ants.
Chemical Control: Using insecticides on fire ant mounds can be useful, though needs to be done with caution. You should never use chemicals around vegetable gardens or other food production areas. Some insecticides aren’t available to the general public and have to be applied by a professional. If you are feeling uneasy about using chemicals, or unsure of where to use them, have pest management in Frisco, TX come out and do it.
Organic Products: The use of the ingredient d-limonene and spinosad, which is created by a microbe in the soil, can be used to effectively against fire ants.
Home Remedies: Drowning fire ant mounds in about 2-3 gallons of almost boiling water works some of the time, the problematic part of this method is the hot water has to reach the queen or queens to be effective. This method is very time consuming and also will kill plants around the area inadvertently treated with the hot water. Use of gas and diesel and other contaminants are highly discouraged due to damage that can be done to the soil and surrounding plant life. Club soda, molasses, and instant grits are not effective and often have the opposite of the desired effect.
Use of Baits: There are two types of baits available, fast acting and slow acting. Fast acting baits are good at getting quick results but need replacing more often, and slow acting baits take more time to see results but require less changing. For the best results use a combination of slow and fast acting baits to get quick results and sustained control.
Individual mound treatments: This approach is labor intensive and requires more insecticides than most methods, but is suitable for areas with few mounds. All it involves is correctly applying the pesticide to the mound and leaving it be. This method, however, only works on mounds that accessible at the surface. For harder to reach colonies, such as under a tree, a pest management professional will usually recommend of fast-acting baits.
Keep your yard and house protected this summer by having pest management in Frisco, TX treat your fire ant problems. Contact Bug Commander at (214) 307-1933