What Can I Do About These Fire Ants?

Fire ants can be a problem. They are invasive and worse than that, they bite. For people who are sensitive to the fire ant’s bite it is essential to control the fire ant population on your property. In Melbourne, Florida that is a year-round activity. Though there are products that consumers can buy to eradicate their fire ants the problem is that unless it is applied properly it doesn’t work well. This could give you a false sense of security and could also mean money down the drain.

One of the rules of war is to know your enemy. Well, when it comes to fire ants, it is like a war. Just when you thought they were gone, they’re back. Most people consider fire ants an invasive species, but that isn’t true. There are native species of fire ants. The native species kill other insect pests and help keep down their numbers. They also till more earth than earthworms.

You can tell if fire ants are on your property because you will see their mounds, they are sandy earthen mounds and typically have no opening. They are usually more visible after a rainfall. They will build them almost anywhere: out in the open, near trees, electrical boxes, sidewalks or buildings. Don’t be fooled by the lack of an opening, if you disturb their mound they will come pouring out. And don’t look for the mounds in wooded areas, they prefer warm, sunny spots. Their mounds can grow 61 cm in diameter and 18 cm high.

A fire ant mound always contains a queen and the colonies can house several hundred thousand fire ants so be careful. When they attack, they attack together. If you disturb their mounds you can count on multiple bites if you don’t get away fast enough.

This is why you should contact a pest control specialist if you have a fire ant problem in Brevard County. Aside from being able to identify the mounds they can also identify the specific species of fire ant which gives them the ability to formulate a very specific plan for ridding you of them.

When a pest control specialist applies the insecticide to the mound you can be sure that it will be applied correctly. The insecticide must not only kill the worker ants, it must kill the queen. If you don’t kill the queen, the colony will survive. Call a pest control specialist for your fire ant problem.