How to Kill Red Fire Ants

Red ants or fire ants are aggressive insects that can pose a health hazard if disturbed. Injury by red ants ranges from the mild sting or rash to the extreme allergic reaction causing death. Red ants can be difficult to kill because you must make sure you have killed all of the queens so the colonies or the colony will die. Many products and techniques are said to kill the red ants, but many will only kill part of the colony.

What you will need

• Caulking
• Indoor ant killer
• Ant bait
• Insecticide

Find places where the ants are entering your home and shield the entrance with caulking. This may require some time. Kill the ants in your home using a covert ant killer. While doing this, remove all food sources such as crumbs, trash, liquid spills and pet food.

Find out which hills the ants are emerging from. You need to treat the colonies to kill the ants.

Apply ant bait to the foraging area. Ants will start taking the bait within the hour at temperatures of 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Bait can be applied to individual mounds up to a distance of three feet away.

Sprinkle insecticide dust over each mound. Do not let the dust come in contact with your skin, eyes, nose or mouth and do not inhale the dust. This approach kills the ants that come in contact with the dust, which will stay on the insect. The bait and insecticide should eliminate red ants within one to several weeks depending on the extent of the problem.

Tips & Warnings

• Bait should be fresh and dry to be attractive to ants.
• If you think the ants are living inside your home, it is best to contact a pest control service.
• Keep children and pets away from any bait or ant killer. Follow the label on ant baits to stay within the legal range of use.