Fire Ant Management

ASK THE HORT AGENT

Question What can I do to control fire ants and not hurt my pets?

Answer If you do not manage fire ants around your pets, then you are certainly putting your pets’ health at risk. Obviously, fire ants will sting pets. Occasionally, they will even kill small animals. They killed my pet rabbit, Whitey.

Fire ants will find feeding areas. They devour dog and cat food like it is candy. Their presence will either prevent pets from feeding or they will sting pets as they try to eat. To make matters worse, fire ants also eat meat. They will find any open sore on a pet, and try to feed. Many long haired dogs will develop “hot spots” during the summer heat. Fire ants will find the hot spots and severely sting the dog when he tries to lick them off the area.

Some homeowners keep their pets inside. When they let them out to do their business, the areas most pets pick are the same areas fire ants pick to set up shop. Nothing makes a dog pee faster than 4 or 5 fire ants stinging his leg.

Fire ant management is the solution. Baits are the best long term solution. They can also be super safe, if you follow the instructions on the label. Baits have 3 things going for them. First, most baits have relatively low toxicity compared to other pesticides. A few baits have toxicity levels so low that the dew on the morning grass is more toxic. Second, the percentage of active ingredient in a bait is also very low. The object of a bait is to fool the ant into thinking it has a meal. Would you eat a sandwich that smelled like gasoline?

Lastly, most baits are applied at super low rates. The most common application rate is 1 to 1.5 pounds of bait per acre. It is difficult to put out baits with rates this low. Most folks end up spreading them in thin strips. Since they are not applied heavily with complete coverage, pets are less likely to encounter them. Fire ants are also very good foragers. Therefore, the baits will probably be long gone before the dog decides to walk around the yard. For more info on baits, visit http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1297/ANR-1297.pdf

Late spring and early fall are two of the best times to apply baits in North Carolina. Fire ants are actively gathering food to increase the size of their colony. Take advantage of this feeding frenzy by slipping in some fire ant bait.

Whenever it’s warm outside, new queens will be trying to set up camp on your property. When a mound pops up too close to your pet’s house or feeding area, it may be necessary to use a mound treatment to get rid of them. Drenches work the fastest, and powders can be washed into the soil after they have killed the ants.

For more info about pets and fire ants, visit http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/factsheets_pubs/pdf/FAPFS014.2002rev.pdf If you don’t have internet access, call me at 910-893-7533 or email me at gpierce@harnett.org

When you throw Fluffy or Skippy outside to do their business, you wouldn’t dream of making them swim a pond of piranhas or alligators. If wasps or yellow jackets built a nest in Old Roy’s doghouse, you would soak them down in “Wasp and Hornet Spray.” The threat and aggravation of fire ants is more real than piranhas or yellow jackets.

Gary L. Pierce

Horticulture Extension Agent