The fire ant was imported around the 1930's and has spread to infest more than 260 million acres of land in nine southeastern states, including all or portions of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. (This species has become very abundant, displacing many native ant species.) It has the potential of spreading west and surviving in southern Arizona and along the Pacific coast north to Washington.

Fire ants are a nuisance and a painful pest to anyone unlucky enough to live in their stomping grounds. It is unlikely we will eradicate these pests any time soon, but we can remove the problem associated with them by good integrated pest management (IPM) practices. This involves reducing their populations to tolerable levels by using safe and effective methods of control.

The use of professional baits is a very thorough method of control, slowly killing the entire colony. Baits work best when used outdoors in the spring and early summer. When the weather gets hot and dry, baits are generally ineffective for fire ant control. However, fire ant baiting has two drawbacks: cost and length of control time. For instance, baiting an entire area will kill the existing ant colonies but will not always control new ant colonies invading from nearby areas that were not baited properly. Also, most people with fire ant problems live on very large lots - 2 acres or better. This involves a great deal of bait at a premium price.

Broadcast granular bait applications are most effective; however, it may take 4 to 6 weeks to get control. Early spring application is ideal because it controls recently developed queens before they leave on their nuptial flights and establish new colonies. Killing the queens is the only way to eliminate fire any colonies. Follow-up granular bait applications usually are necessary in mid-summer and another one in the fall.

Apply baits when the ground is dry and when ground temperatures are between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit with no forecast of rain. Apply baits around the base of the mounds and also broadcast the entire area where ants are seen foraging. Baits are picked up by foraging ants looking for food. The ants take the bait back to the ant colony; it passes through the food chain and is fed to the queen ants.