Keeping your lawn maintained is the key to keeping your property looking good, but having an ant infestation can ruin your home’s decorum. Fire ants prove to be even more of a problem, as their aggressive nature makes them quick to attack humans and animals alike.
How can you prevent fire ants from making their home on your property?
There are several methods of fire ant control that you can use on your property. Here are a few of the ways you can keep fire ants away.
What Can Fire Ants Do?
While most species of ants aren’t particularly dangerous, fire ants can cause serious damage to you and your property. Here are a few of the ways that fire ants can affect your property.
They Can Infiltrate Your Home
While fire ants outside may not seem like a problem, ants have a way of getting into your home. Any holes or cracks in the foundation of your home can be used as an opening for them; before you know it, your house can be teeming with fire ants. Once they get in, it can be difficult to remove them entirely from your home.
They Can Harm You and Your Family
Fire ants are more dangerous than any other common ant species, as they can and will sting or bite you if they feel threatened. Whether the ants are inside or outside of your home, getting near a colony of fire ants can end in disaster.
While an adult may be able to detect fire ants, the same can’t be said for children or pets. If an animal or child were to disturb a fire ant colony, you could have massive medical bills to handle. One fire ant may not seem like much, but an entire colony stinging or biting your child or pet can be dangerous.
It is also possible to be allergic to the small amounts of venom that fire ants inject. If you do happen to be allergic, then you will require medical attention right away if you are bitten or stung.
They Can Ruin Your Lawn
A fire ant colony living under your lawn can cause damage to your property. Ants can damage root systems underneath your lawn, leading to your grass or flowers dying as they are cut off from the soil.
If you own a garden, fire ants may try to use it as a source of food for themselves. You may eventually find all of your crops ruined as the ants use them as fuel for the colony.
Fire Ant Control Tips
Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can protect your lawn and your home from becoming infested with fire ants. Here are a few fire ant yard control methods you can use to protect your property.
Close Off Your Home
If you suspect that fire ants may have taken up residence in your yard, then you’ll want to shut them out of your home as soon as possible. Take a good look at your home for any holes or cracks in the walls and seel off the area underneath your home’s doors; this will prevent the ants from getting inside.
Using pesticides around your doors and windows may also help to keep the ants out. Be sure to use caution when using any pesticides so that they don’t harm any pets or children in the area.
Seel Off Trash Outside
Fire ants are likely to try and get into your garbage can or dumpster outside of your home. It is an easy source of food for them if you don’t have a garden or similar food available.
Make sure your trash cans are airtight so that fire ants cannot get inside. Cutting off their main food source will make it harder for fire ants to survive in your yard.
Trim Bushes and Trees Around Your Yard
Ants have been known to use tree branches, leaves, and bushes in order to avoid touching grass with pesticides. In order to prevent fire ants from getting into your yard or home, make sure you regularly trim the bushes and trees in your yard.
It’s also important that you remove any clippings or trimmings from your yard right away. Fire ants like to use grass and tree clippings as a place to live, so removing them will prevent them from taking up residence in your yard.
Remove Ripe Fruit from Trees and Bushes
Do you have any fruit trees or bushes in your yard or garden? If so, it’s important that you regularly remove ripe fruit from the trees and bushes. Fire ants will make a meal out of any fruits available to them, so taking care of them right away is crucial to keeping ants out of your yard.
If you must leave any ripened fruit in your garden, then you should try to set up something around your garden in order to keep insects like fire ants out. Whether you choose to plant dry mulch or pesticides around your garden to prevent ants from getting in or build a greenhouse, protecting your garden from fire ants is the key to preventing them from nesting near your property.
Create Dry Spaces Around Your Lawn
Ants require wet areas in order to begin building their colony. By creating dry patches strategically around your lawn, you can discourage them from building a nest near your home.
These dry spaces can be crafted using mulch or a similar bedding material around your yard. This limits the soil’s moisture retention and may discourage fire ants from nesting.
What Not to Do When Dealing with Fire Ants
If you are unfortunate enough to have fire ants create a colony on your property, there are a few things that you should not do to get rid of them. Here is a list of things to avoid doing.
Douse the Colony
While many believe that drowning the colony will get rid of your problem, that simply isn’t the case. It is nearly impossible to drown out an entire colony of ants without missing a few. Fire ant colonies also have more than one queen depending on the size of the colony, meaning that they can restart their colony if one is killed.
Using excessive amounts of water to try and get rid of the ants can also overwater and damage your lawn. This can create further problems for you later on.
Use Chemicals
Your first instinct when you notice a fire ant colony may be to attempt to use pesticides or chemicals on the anthill to kill them off. However, this can be detrimental to your lawn. If you aren’t careful, the chemicals you use can kill off your grass and any other plants in the area; you may also risk the health of your pets or children if you let them outside near the anthill.
You should always contact a professional to use pesticides on your lawn when deemed necessary. They will have the proper tools and knowledge to get rid of your problem without damaging your lawn.
Using Fire or Fireworks
The last thing you want to do if your yard is infested by fire ants is to try to burn the colony. Not only is this extremely unlikely to get rid of your problem, but you could cause fire damage to your lawn or the surrounding property. In a worst-case scenario, you may even cause a fire to your home or your neighbors’ property.
Fireworks should also be avoided when dealing with fire ants. These will leave holes in your yard and can cause similar damage to starting an actual fire.
How to Get Rid of Fire Ants Properly
No matter how hard you try, you still may end up with the misfortune of a fire ant infestation. If you do have to deal with fire ants, then you should contact a professional exterminator right away for help. They will have all of the necessary tools to get rid of your problem as soon as possible.
Get Rid of Your Fire Ant Problems Today
The next time you notice a fire ant colony outside of your home, use these fire ant control tactics to keep yourself and your home safe. Call an exterminator right away if things get out of hand for extra assistance!
Are you struggling with a fire ant infestation and don’t know how to get rid of them?
We’re here to help. Contact us with any questions or concerns you have about the extermination process and continue reading our blog for more helpful tips today!
