Fire ants and Florida go together like peanut butter and jelly. The hot, semi-tropical location is perfect for these pests to thrive. If you are buying a home, or any property, in Florida, you will need some type of fire ant pest control.
Imagine stepping outside in the morning with your coffee to wave hello to your neighbor and feeling hot coals creeping up your leg. You have fire ants! Without treatment, many people suffer through this unpleasant experience.
Where They Live
We already know that fire ants love the Floridian life, but where exactly do these devilish creatures prefer to call home? Red Imported Fire Ants create mounds that resemble messy sand piles. You can distinguish them because you will likely see some ants around the mound, but you won’t see a clear path in or out.
Evil and smart, these ants create complex tunnel systems that go deep beneath the mound, so what you see from the surface is only a small amount of real estate they actually have. This makes them much harder to kill, as they retreat and hide in these tunnels.
Now you might be thinking that these tunnels will likely flood with all of the rain Florida gets. Even more terrifying is that if their tunnels do flood, the ants can band together and form a raft of fire ants. Not only does it mean they can survive during this time, but they are also more dangerous since they are more likely to sting when there is no mound to hide in.
Mound Locations
Red Imported Fire Ants like to build their mounds in specific places, but they can survive virtually anywhere. Common places to find fire ant mounds are:
- In tall grass
- Near HVAC units
- Under air conditioners
- In leaf piles or outdoor clippings
- Near the garage
If you have a mound near your home, the biggest concern is ants getting inside your home. Cracks in and around the foundation make for easy access, and these are one pest you certainly don’t want to find indoors.
How to Control Them
The ultimate goal always needs to be elimination. Because of their complex tunnel system and their resilience, it is hard to completely eradicate them. At Fire Ant Control LLC, we guarantee to get rid of 95% of your fire ants for four months at a time.
How does that work? We use a granular bait that is placed around the property. It is carried back to the colony by the worker ants and fed to the queen. This bait sterilizes and eventually kills the queen. Without the reproducing queen, the colony will eventually die off.
Treating and getting rid of red imported fire ants is not an overnight process. This means continuing treatment is all the more important. Once you are fire ant free, you certainly will not want them to return.
What to Do if You Have Fire Ants
If you suspect you have red imported fire ants on your property, it’s time to call Fire Ant Control LLC at 239-312-8200. We are fully licensed and insured. Let us come out and give you a free estimate and discuss our competitively low prices so we can take care of all of your fire ant pest control needs.