Fire ants are more than a nuisance. As the name suggests, fire ants are so aggressive that they attack and repeatedly sting the victim if provoked. We would recommend not to deal with the fire ant infestations alone by yourself as it is risky for you and your family. Let us look at the methods to get rid of fire ants:
How to identify fire ants:
Fire ants are known for their fiery stings to the victim. These ant species have large mounds with no uniform size. They are reddish-brown color with two nodes and ten segmented antennae. Like other ant species, fire ants live in colonies and have the same social structure consisting of a queen, workers, and drones.
Where are fire ants found?
Fire ants build large colonies. These ant species are aggressive and violently attack if provoked. Fire ants prefer nesting almost in any place, preferably open sunny areas. Fire ants come and go from inside the tunnels like a celebrity.
How to get rid of fire ants indoors?
Ants are social pests, and ant baits work well as an indoor treatment. The ant species will bring the ant bait to the colony, which will help them to destroy the ant colonies.
Do not place the ant baits directly on the trail. Place an ant bait around the affected areas where you spot the increased ant activity.
Try placing them near the kitchen areas, drainage areas, under the stove, or refrigerator.
Make sure to use a non-repellant ant spray to remove these ant species from your house. The spray will affect the ant colonies for the long term. Apply sprays in the crevices and cracks of the windows, door frames, and other exterior structures.
When to drench a fire ant colony:
If you want to eliminate the fire ant colony, then drenching is the best option. For this, you need to have a concentrated fire ant pesticide, broom, pump, spray, and five-gallon water bucket.
Mix the insecticide with the water and spray around the mounds or anthills to destroy the ant colonies.
Removing fire ants naturally:
Some natural methods to remove fire ants include baking soda, vinegar, peppermint oil, essential oil, and diatomaceous earth.
Ants are killed due to dehydration by the lack of moisture using the diatomaceous earth method.
White vinegar mixed with water and use as a spray will deter the ants from nesting inside. The acid in the vinegar will disrupt the scent trails and disturb the path they are following.
How to prevent fire ants:
Trying only the treatments will not remove the ant infestations. For that, you need to take some preventive measures, which are as follows:
- Clean the outdoor areas and backyard of your house to remove ants from entering your home.
- Make sure to keep the food sources inside the air-tight containers as ants forage food sources for their survival.
- Remove the standing water as ants are attracted to nest in the moisture areas.
After taking all the preventive measures and following all the guidelines, call the pest control professionals to remove ant infestation quickly.
