The broadcast insecticide treatments most commonly used by homeowners to control fire ants are granular products, but don’t confuse them with baits. They do not contain food or attractant and the ants do not collect the granules and carry them back to the mound. These products contain long-lasting contact insecticides and work by killing ants that contact treated soil.
Broadcast insecticide application instructions: Use a lawn broadcast spreader to broadcast the granules over lawn areas and a hand-held or shoulder type bag spreader in landscape beds and islands. Be sure to read the label and apply the appropriate rate. Rates for broadcast insecticide treatments are usually much higher than the rates for baits.
How broadcast insecticides work: Foraging workers will be controlled when they contact the treated soil, as will young queens trying to colonize the area. Most broadcast insecticide treatments will control fire ants for four to eight weeks, but some products promise season-long control with a single application.
Because these products can be somewhat costly, many homeowners use them only in certain areas areas of their property, places where they really don’t want to have any fire ant mounds, and use baits or individual mound treatments on the rest of the property. By combining all three approaches you will get as close as possible to complete fire ant control.
