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Fire ants are little pests that can pose a major nuisance to homeowners. The aggressive bug can destroy plants and trees and has a painful sting. The best fire ant killer destroys the ants in your path, wipes out colonies, and comes in a bait, liquid drench, or spray form. Here's what to know before you shop.
Type
Whether you have fire ants building their trademark mounds in your backyard or have discovered an infestation inside of your home, these three major types of fire ant killers address specific concerns.
- Bait: Individual fire ants pick up bait and bring it back to their colony, where they spread it to other ants and queens. You can place bait traps around mounds, throughout your yard, or near drains and pipes in your home. Ant bait may not suited for areas with high heat or lots of rain where baits can be destroyed easily.
- Liquid drench: Apply a mound killer around and inside of mounds. You'll also need a bucket and spray bottle to drench and activate the formula. This is the most time-consuming approach, but a two-step method that includes bait and liquid drench is also the most effective for getting rid of fire ants.
- Spray: Fire ants that have already found an indoor food supply may ignore baits. Non-repellent indoor fire ant sprays can be applied in the same spots as bait and provide another way of destroying fire ants inside of your home. But sprays aren't a quick fix. Ants carry the spray on their bodies and bring it back to colonies, where it slowly infects more ants.
Natural Options
If you prefer natural alternatives, food-grade diatomaceous earth is a natural fire ant killer that has been proven to dehydrate and destroy fire ants and can be used inside the house, but it rarely eradicates ant colonies when used alone and is best as a supplement.
Whichever method you choose, these highly rated fire ant killers, some of which boast thousands of reviews, will get your fire ant problem under control.
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The Best Bait For Fire Ants
Cast this fire ant bait around your backyard as the first step in the effective two-step method to get rid of fire ants and kill their colony and queen. The outdoor treatment tricks ants into thinking its their food source so that they carry it back to the colony to share with other ants. The bait begins to kill the queen within one week, according to the manufacturer, and should destroy the colony within two weeks after an application.
This highly rated bait is simple to use — just spread it around your yard on a dry day, no need to add water afterward. It should control your ant population for up to three months and prevents new mounds from forming. Reviewers say it's important to be patient. You may not think it's working at first, but they report that it really does kill off fire ants over time.
Helpful review: "This product works! The fire ants- even smaller, different ant varieties- cannot haul these granules fast enough back into the ant hill. Amdro must be like candy to them. After a week, I opened up multiple ant hills and instead of an angry mob of biting ants, there were only a few feeble, weakened ants ready to give up the ghost. I have been using the Amdro on a regular basis and the lawn has gone from multiple hills to only a few. This is the only fire ant product I've used that has actually reduced the fire ant population."
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The Best Liquid Drench Fire Ant Mound Killer
It's important to treat visible fire ant mounds in order to eradicate the queen ant and colony, while preventing ants from building more mounds. This fire ant mount treatment is a powder that you sprinkle around and along the top of mounds. The next step is to gently pour water over the mound to activate the powder. The best time to apply it is in the early morning or evening. Avoid treating mounds when it is very hot outside because high temps spur ants to burrow deeper into their nest and the product won't be as effective.
This treatment has a 4.7 rating and more than 2,000 reviews. Reviewers say it has a terrible smell and it's important to keep pets away from it (one says she covers the mound with a planter and places cinder blocks on top to keep her dogs from sniffing it). But they also rave about how fast it works to kill fire ants and destroy their mound.
Helpful review: "Fire ants have been a problem in my yard for years, biting me, biting my pups. There was one persistent colony that I couldn't eradicate using boiling water, soapy water, borax bait, for years. I was leery of trying poison because I have four dogs, but the other methods didn't work and/or took too long ... I am amazed by how well this worked ... I used this one evening, and the next morning there were tons of dead and crumpled up ants around the hole and not a live fire ant to be seen during the cooler hours. I've been checking for fire ants for a couple of days now, and it seems like they are gone for good [...]"
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The Best Spray For Getting Rid Of Fire Ants Indoors
Get rid of fire ants that have found their way into your home and prevent more ants from following their lead with this popular indoor insect killer that has more than 4,000 reviews and a wand that makes it a breeze to target specific areas. The spray can be applied on indoor non-porous surfaces like the perimeter of baseboards, cabinets, windows, and door trims to offer up to 12 months of protection in your home. When used outdoors along the foundation of your house, doors, windows, and patio, this spray provides a three month barrier to keep fire ants out. The formula also works on more than 130 other insects like roaches, spiders, beetles, and fleas.
Helpful review: "Works better than paying for an exterminator! Normally, I spray inside and outside my home twice a year but last year I ended up only spraying with this once a year. Guess what? No bugs. Whatsoever! I love the spray nozzle on this — it sprays a continuous stream and I have no hand fatigue after spraying for a long time. This stuff is simply the best!"
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4: A Natural Fire Ant Killer
A natural silica-based dust, diatomaceous earth can help control some fire ants and is a nontoxic approach for keeping your indoor ant population at bay. This targeted treatment can be applied directly over fire ants as you spot them, as well as along baseboards, window sills, and any cracks where you've spotted ants. It is then important to wait 24 to 48 hours and monitor areas to see if fire ants have discovered another route into your home (if so, another treatment will be necessary). Only after you've rid your home of ants should you clean off the DE and wash surfaces. DE can also be applied along the outside perimeter of your home.
This organic, food-grade diatomaceous earth has a 4.6 rating and more than 8,000 reviews. It's an all-around helpful multitasking product to keep in your home, one that can control a number of bugs.
Helpful review: "We had a horrible ant problem, those darn ants would come in and head straight to the pets food and water bowls. =( Not any more! I sprinkled some around where the bowls are located, and at entry points where the ants were coming in... NO ANTS THIS YEAR!"
