08-24-2013, 05:49 AM
If they won't eat the terro liquid bait then they are LFA. The only thing that kills them quickly is Amdro and similar products. It is corn grits saturated with a bait/poison. They suck the bait/poison out of the grits and share with the colony and they die. If you sprinkle some amdro around where you see the ants and they disappear after a day or two you have your answer. Then sprinkle the amdro around the outside of the house. That will kill any colonies within 6-10 feet. Amdro is useless once it gets wet, so applying it is problematic around here. LFA live in interconnected colonies, so once you have them, they never really go away. The killed colonies will eventually get recolonized. We have to spread amdro around the outside of the house every few weeks and it's problematic because we have to put it under something the chickens can't get to.
The good news is that they aren't aggressive. Their sting is nasty but they only sting if provoked. You can usually handle them without getting stung.
Whatever you buy, make sure it is labeled for fire ants and that it is a BAIT. Home Depot and other stores sell fire ant poison that is meant for mounds. It doesn't work for LFA because they don't mound. They live in the ground and in the trees. Amdro and Firestrike are two products I have used with success. They are both expensive. Cheapest I have found is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FYM...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It is two 1-pound containers for $19.99, compared to about $40 per pound locally.
The good news is that they aren't aggressive. Their sting is nasty but they only sting if provoked. You can usually handle them without getting stung.
Whatever you buy, make sure it is labeled for fire ants and that it is a BAIT. Home Depot and other stores sell fire ant poison that is meant for mounds. It doesn't work for LFA because they don't mound. They live in the ground and in the trees. Amdro and Firestrike are two products I have used with success. They are both expensive. Cheapest I have found is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FYM...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It is two 1-pound containers for $19.99, compared to about $40 per pound locally.