Fire Ants: Getting Two Steps Ahead
by Lindsey Lee

Spring is upon us, and with the warmer weather comes red imported fire ants. Last year many people didn't treat for fire ants in the spring because the dry weather kept the ants deep and unnoticeable. If this year's weather is a repeat of last year’s dry spring, don't get caught untreated, because it could result in an even bigger fire ant problem later.

Fire ants love to nest in home lawns, parks, and ornamental turfgrass areas. At certain times of the year, especially spring and fall after rainy periods, freshly worked mounds are noticeable and can be unsightly.

Like other ants, the fire ant is a social insect. Colonies live in mounds of dirt that may be more than 18 inches high. There may be hundreds of thousands of worker ants in a mature colony. In many areas, each mound contains several queen ants, each producing eggs. In areas infested with this form of the ant, they can build 200 to 800 or more mounds per acre in untreated areas. Worker ants from multiple queen colonies are not territorial and do not attack neighboring ant colonies, but instead move freely from mound to mound. Fire ants disperse naturally through mating flights and mass migrations of colony members. When land is flooded, colonies form a mass of floating ants and float to new locations in flood water.

Since fire ants travel from yard to yard, a coordinated attack is the most effective way to reduce the fire ant population. Controlling the fire ant problem in urban areas will be more successful if tackled on a neighborhood-wide scale. Many communities and neighborhoods across Texas are beginning to successfully manage fire ants through these coordinated treatment programs, by using the “Two-Step Method.” For heavily infested areas, broadcasting a bait (Step 1) can be done for less than $10 for a _ acre yard that provides 80-90% control for up to a year! The second step is treating only undesirable or nuisance mounds on an individual basis between broadcast applications of ant baits once or twice per year. By letting the bait treatments eliminate most of the ant colonies, few mounds will need to be treated. This information is available in your County Extension office, request “The Texas Two-Step Method” (L-5070), or can be found online.