In most typical cases it takes six months for a fire ant mound to become visible. In Texas, there are hundreds of different ways to get rid of fire ants, or so we’re told. The fact is that most fire ant home remedies are bogus. Here are some of our ABC Fort Worth Pest Control favorites.
1. Pour club soda on the mound and the CO2 will kill everything. False. The thought is that the CO2 will replace the air in the mound, but it is doubtful that the amount of CO2 in a bottle of soda would be able to actually penetrate deep enough to smother the entire colony.
2. Household products like bleach or gasoline will wipe fire ants out. False. These products are not labeled for controlling fire ants and can prove dangerous to your children and pets.
3. Pour boiling water on the mound. False. Boiling water will kill a few ants, and a couple more might drown, but it won’t do enough damage to kill the queen. Speaking of the queen…
4. If you dig up one mound and place it next to another, both mounds will begin fighting for territory and kill the queens. False. It would be cool to watch, but no, it won’t work.
5. If you feed ants starch or grits they will explode. False. If this were true don’t you think most boys would spend all summer hauling around a bag of grits and watching ants explode? If you don’t have a pest control company to handle your fire ant problem and want to handle things on your own, the best advice is to be patient and read the label.
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