Homeowners may still stretch a little more to protect their family and loved ones from fire ants. In defense of their territory, fire ants will give a jab at anyone who disrupts their feeding. Well, they’ll sting repeatedly! Many people continue to live with these aggressive pests knowingly or unknowingly.
You may have visited an emergency room for allowing these uninvited neighbors in their backyard. One of the reality is that fighting fire ants is an ongoing battle. You’re not going to send them away permanently.
Even if you do, queens will soon visit and reoccupy a space in your Garden Yard. The good news is, you can control them for longer periods. It doesn’t have to be so complex! If keeping the fire ants away is your goal, read on.
Know your Enemy
To effectively control fire ants in your Garden Yard some rules of thumb will apply:
Fire ant Mounds are just evidence
Mounds are evidence that you’ve been living with the fire ants in your Garden Yard for months now. When you see mounds, be sure that much more is underneath. Approximately 500,000 fire ants occupy a single-queen colony. Therefore, that one mound may be part of about 40-150 more that are not within your sight.
Disruptions
Fire ants dread disruptions. They can relocate overnight. The problem is they’ll still be within your Garden Yard. So, when you plan to use any control measure, do not disrupt first. When you disturb the mound, only workers come after you. The Queens will leave through underground tunnels. So, you’ll lose the war.
Fire Ants Activity
Fire ants activity mainly revolve around feeding and protecting the queen or queens. Workers live for only five weeks. On the contrary, Queens has a powerful replacement capacity. They lay 800 eggs every single day. They also live for up to six years! This makes your target clearer. You’ve got to neutralize the Queen! Without that, you’ll still have a long way into the battle.
Control Approach
Now that you know the enemy, let’s turn to the treatment approach.
Mound Treatment
This is the only known quickest method to eliminate the fire ants. Mound treatment takes various methods that are drenches and dry mound approaches. Do you remember our rule of thumb? Do not disturb the mound. Using drenches will cause a lot of disturbance. In that case, you’ll likely kill the workers and let the Queen escape. Additionally, you can imagine the amount of work if you’re to reach every mound in the colony! The most recommended mound treatment, therefore, is a dry fire ant killer, Ortho Orthene.
Why Ortho Orthene?
Ortho Orthene contains 50% acephate which requires no water to reach the target. It implies that it is less disruptive. Put in other words, you have a higher chance of reaching the Queen. When you kill the Queen, you win the battle.
Using Ortho Orthene makes the work less tedious. It provides the most convenient way to treat the mound. You’ll need not to carry the spray can. No need for thorough mixing and misuse of water. All it takes is a tablespoon sprinkled over a mound. So, you can reach all the mounds in your Garden Yard.
Less Odor
Many people resort to other less effective dry mound treatment for fear of the odor from acephate. Well, Ortho Orthene has a reduced odor that will ensure your Garden Yard returns to its scent within hours.
Quick Response
When you use Ortho Orthene, you expect a relatively quick response. It starts working immediately. Workers will fall victim within hours while the Queen will barely see the third day after application. Since much of this happens underground, you expect to see the mounds destroyed in three days. Meanwhile, a two-factor attack is very effective in getting the desired result. Therefore, apply in the morning and evening. Fire ants are most active during such times.
Take Away
You can still reclaim the pride of a free-fire ant Garden Yard if you decide. No other lasting control you’ll get more than when using Ortho Orthene. With a light job, you’ll enjoy lasting peace of mind. Ants will never endure attacks using Ortho Orthene. To them, it’s game over.
