![]() Baits are actually food and depend upon that food being attractive for the ants to take it in. Not all baits that can be used at a mound may also be used as a broadcast. Fire ant entrances are located around the outside edges of a mound. ![]() Baits generally, should not be applied directly onto the mound. Baiting may be done near specific mounds, or broadcast across a large area. Remember, fire ants can re-invade whenever the wind blows a queen into the yard. An effective management program also requires monitoring several times per year. Some products are made for application across the entire lawn. If there is still activity 5 to 7 days later or a satellite mound has sprung up, then follow with bait. DO NOT use both mound drench and bait at the same time. Workers should emerge within a few minutes. It is better to use a bait first and follow up with mound treatment a few days later if the bait seems too slow. If there are too many mounds, baiting may be the best solution, but patience is required. The most effective management program combines a two-step process combining direct mound treatment and baits. However, an active mound in an inconvenient location, can be drenched on any warm day. The best seasons to treat fire ants are late spring and late September to early October before soil temperatures cool. A noticeable mound from which ants boil out aggressively when disturbed is most likely that of the red imported fire ant. In urban areas, fire ants invade lawns, parks, play grounds, school yards, cemeteries and golf courses. The above ground part of the mound is only a small portion of the nest, which may be three feet deep. These ants build mounds in any type of soil, but seem to prefer open, sunny areas such as lawns and pastures. Such colonies may bud off new colonies nearby. Newly fertilized queens land, break off their wings, and excavate a cell in which eggs are laid to start a new colony. Eventually the winged forms swarm out of the nest and participate in an aerial mating swarm. A typical mature colony contains 100,000 to 500,000 workers with relatively few winged (reproductive) forms. After the initial brood has developed into workers, she continues to lay eggs as the workers take over care of all other functions of the colony including rearing their new siblings and defending the nest. The queen lays and tends the initial egg cluster. Workers develop into three sizes: minim (about 1/ 8 inch), minor or media, and major workers (about ¼ inch). Fire ant colonies are have three forms: fertile females (queens) that lay all of the eggs, winged males, and infertile workers. Fire ants have two nodes (humps) whereas almost all other ants have only one node. They are typical reddish brown ants with darker nodes and gaster. ![]() The red imported fire ant is our most troublesome ant in North Carolina landscapes. Related Contentįind more information about fire ants in eXtension’s Imported Fire Ant Resource Area.Description and Biology Skip to Description and Biology ![]() This is why it is necessary to use more liquid insecticide on a bigger mound than on a smaller mound. Mounds are not necessary for colony survival as long as there is a dark, moist area for protection of the queen.Ī rule of thumb to use when drenching mounds with an insecticide is to assume that there will be tunnels an inch and a half below ground for each inch in height above ground. For flat mounds, assume there will be tunnels an inch and a half below ground for every inch in mound diameter. Colonies in clay soils have deeper tunnels than those in sandy soils. Tunnels in fire ant nests have been found to a depth of 10 feet or more, but most tunnels are shallower, starting just beneath the soil surface. How deep this network extends into the ground depends on age and size of the colony, soil texture, and depth of the water table. Fire ants live in an extensive network of tunnels in the soil.
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