Fire Ant Control

Fire Ant Control refers to the process of eliminating existing fire ants from your lawn and preventing these common pests from flourishing in the future. There are 3 major methods of fire ant control, including:

Granular baits

Granular fire ant baits are what we use most frequently and recommend to our customers for fire ant control. This method has been shown to provide the best control with the lowest impacts on the local ecosystem. Fire ants collect granular baits like any other food source, and methodically distribute the poison throughout their respective colonies. Because of the relatively slow action of the granular baits, this method is usually the most effective way to eliminate fire ants. Faster methods of control usually result in reduction in size of the fire ant mound, but fail to kill the queen. This results in the queen rebuilding the colony in a short amount of time. Granular baits are also the most cost effective way to eliminate fire ants.

Mound treatments

This method works by treating problematic areas of your yard (i.e. “mounds”) directly. While this method is effective at eliminating visible mounds and can mitigate the appearance of your fire ant problem, it often is not aggressive enough to reach and eliminate the smaller colonies that have not created a mound yet.

Broadcast insecticides

This method is a more aggressive treatment that works by creating a long-lasting coat of insecticide in the soil that kill any ants that come into contact with your turf. Consequently, it also can kill other beneficial insects in the soil. Broadcast insecticides usually cost 3-4 times as much as granular baits. We do not recommend this course of treatment except in rare circumstances where there is zero tolerance for fire ants.

Fire ant control applications are useful for two types of homeowners. These homeowners include:

A) Those who are looking to get rid of existing fire ant problems.

B) Those who are aiming to prevent future infestations.

The good news is that regardless of how severe your fire ant problem, Rivers Lawn and Landscape can help you develop a treatment plan that will mitigate your current problems. We can also help you prevent future ones.

Our Treatments Last!

A single round of fire ant treatment administered in the spring will help keep your fire ants under control through the season until the summer months arrive. When summer comes around, an additional treatment will be needed to keep the ants under control for the remainder of the year. This treatment plan is concentrated in the warmer months of the years where fire ants are more active. The result for you? Less proliferation of fire ants and a healthier, safer lawn.

There are two prongs to this question. The first thing to emphasize is that the negative impact of granular insecticides on people, pets and surrounding ecosystem is minimal. This is especially true when the treatment is administered by a licensed applicator. Additionally, the tradeoff in removing fire ants from your yard vs. using a low impact method is generally a winning proposition for the homeowner. The bottom line? Your children, pets and yard are healthier and safer when your fire ant problem is under control. 

We are licensed by the state of South Carolina and North Carolina to apply pesticides on your property. We also participate in continuing education classes to keep up to date with changes in our industry and to further our knowledge on pest control best practices.

As required by both states, we are also insured with a 1 million dollar insurance policy for pesticide and herbicide applications.

Our certifications and insurance ensure that we are compliant with all local, state, and federal laws on pesticide applications such as fire ant control.