I am currently waging war in my backyard. My foe is tiny in comparison to me but knows how to inflict a painful bite when my feet get too close for their comfort. I am proactively searching out ant mounds, which are often cleverly hidden in an attempt to get rid of them. Ant poison isn’t an option as my dogs and desert tortoise, Aesop spends time out in the back garden. So, I need help, which is why I asked Emily of Gardening Wizards if she would share her tips for annihilating fire ants.

Have you ever felt the sting of a fire ant’s bite? I’d rank it as one of life’s most horrible yet somehow trivial surprises, alongside a mildly sprained ankle and spilling pickled beet juice onto your shirt. However, unlike those problems, fire ants can keep coming back like a bad rash if you don’t take the proper precautions and efficiently slaughter them like the pest they are.

The issue here is that most conventional bug sprays and pesticides aren’t exactly healthy for your plants, since they’re literally poison, only targetted at another species. Just like how humans would still have problems having to eat rat poison, you don’t really want to expose your garden to too much bug spray.

Luckily, there are a handful of convenient, garden-safe ways to get the job done, so put on some face paint and scream to whatever deity you worship, because we’re about to go to war. With a little DIY know-how, those ants don’t stand a chance. I’ll also give some tips on how to prevent fire ants from even showing up, which saves a lot of stress (and pain, let’s be real) without much effort.

Tried and True Methods

Fire ants generally respond pretty poorly to having their mounds drenched in various liquids. Commercially sold pesticides are often spread across your whole lawn, but they’re both unhealthy and expensive. Invest the effort to find all the mounds so you can drown the menace in stuff you have at home, and the results will be better in the long run, especially if you grow vegetables.

Keep in mind that you may often encounter people claiming these methods aren’t perfect, and they’re not. If all you’re interested in is efficiency, pesticides are the way to go, but when you have kids, or you grow crops, it can be extremely unhealthy, not to mention more expensive. These methods cause next to no harm to your surroundings, especially with careful use.

The Fun Method – Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

Have you ever made one of these as a kid? It’s a fun way to get children interested in basic chemistry since it lets them replicate the fizzy effect they sometimes see in cartoons when scientists mix chemicals (they probably won’t get to see it much in class, if my chemistry experience is anything to go by).

If you can provide enough protective clothing (let your kids know that the best scientists always come prepared and they need to be up to the challenge), an effective way to clear out fire ants is to make that volcano erupt vinegar on top of the ant mound.

With some luck, the kid could also get to see the spectacle of ants being literally flushed out. Keep in mind that it’s the vinegar that kills the ants, not the baking soda, so try not to be wasteful. Also, prepare to smell vinegar for a while.

The Long Con – Dish Soap

If you’re feeling like some sadistic supervillain, you could also try dish soap. The reason this is particularly sinister is that it doesn’t directly kill the ants; instead, it eats away at their outer protective layer which causes them to dehydrate.

Another bonus effect is that unlike vinegar and a lot of pesticides, dish soap smells really nice, though make sure your pets or children don’t try to eat it. Mix it with water to be able to spray it on points of interest (usually the paths they take to enter your house) and laugh maniacally at their impending doom.

The Easiest Method – Hot Water

Good old hot water is surprisingly effective at murdering ants, though obviously, you should take care not to get any of it on you or splash it just everywhere. A lot of plants will not tolerate being accidentally tortured like a medieval criminal, so maybe other methods are more appropriate if the fire ant mounds are located near precious foliage. Water also has the advantage of being cheaper than any other method since it’s just water, and everyone has more than enough to spare.

The Trap – Cornmeal

Fire ants love cornmeal, and this makes no sense given how much cornmeal doesn’t like them. They will gladly try to eat it, but they can’t digest it. It’s silly, right? Cornmeal is also safe for most pets and definitely safe for children, so you don’t have to worry when you spread it anywhere.

Try not to only rely on cornmeal if you have a huge infestation on your hands, as it’s a pretty localized method, if you get what I mean. It’s not going to destroy a whole mound, but it will deal with entry points and healthy groups of ants in the near vicinity. It’s also not super-risky for surrounding plants like hot water or similar methods.

A Less Brutal Approach – Driving the Ants Away

Sometimes you don’t need to slaughter every ant that has ever appeared on the face of the Earth. If spotted early enough, a fire ant incursion can be repelled using a few strategic baits and fear tactics. Some of these are less common in most households, but if you’re in a pacifist mood (for some reason), these are a good choice.

Strong Scents

If you sprinkle some, let’s say, cayenne pepper in high-traffic areas, it helps keep the ants away. Have you noticed a pattern emerging in most of these substances? Fire ants really dislike strong scents, as it messes up their communication and makes them unable to follow the invisible scent trail their scouts leave between the mound and a source of food. These peppers are also known as red hot chili peppers. Yes, like the band. And they’re used for chili powder, which has a powerful scent.

A helpful way to focus where you apply those strong smells is by using ant balls. No, that is not a gourmet dish served only to the richest people. It’s a name used for small cotton balls drenched in a special oil (or white vinegar, as a convenient alternative) that deter pests such as ants. Try not to leave puddles around, and keep them hidden from children. You should see at least a good decrease in how many ants you encounter.

Chalk

Chalk is another funky way to hide the scent trail from any fire ant invaders. A thick enough chalk line in the ground will often keep fire ants away, and this is another way to get your children involved. Tell them the chalk is magic and that drawing a thick line around the house/mound creates a force field that keeps bad guys at bay. It’s technically not wrong; you just sprinkled some fantasy on top of things! This works especially well when combined with other methods.

General Tips:

• Don’t leave garbage hanging around for any extended period. Take out the trash regularly, as it attracts not only fire ants, but flies and other annoying bugs.
• Try to keep your kitchen and bathroom free of puddles. Fire ants will seek out water just like any other critter, so you don’t want to give them more incentive to infiltrate your home.
• The shorter the grass is around your house, the easier it becomes to spot signs of an infestation before it gets out of hand. You don’t want to be surprised by multiple mounds at the same time, especially if you’re walking around in flip-flops or something similar. You don’t need to salt the earth or anything to keep things safe, just mow the lawn regularly and you’ll be fine.
• Avoid using things like gasoline to deal with ants, as you really want to avoid the risk of setting plants (and God knows what else) on fire. There is no need to use things that dangerous.
• Try not to keep trash cans outdoors. Even if you empty them regularly, providing easier access to garbage only promotes fire ant infestation. Composting heaps can be problematic for a similar reason.
• Don’t try to shovel away the mounds, or place them on top of one another. It could create a big mess, creating more work for you instead of helping.
• If you get stung by fire ants (you’ll know if it happens, trust me), there are ways to treat the bite, but if you have an allergic reaction, call medical help immediately.

And there you have it! All of these things can be found in your home or through a quick trip to a DIY store of some kind, and they tend not to cost much.

Fire ants are probably the worst kind of pest you can encounter if you have kids or pets, so taking care of this problem puts you mostly in the clear.

After your next great harvest or once your flowers all bloom healthy, you will thank yourself for not resorting to risky pesticide solutions.

Let me know if any of these methods worked! I would love to hear your stories, as having more info is never a bad thing when facing an enemy like fire ants.

About the Author

I’m Emily from Gardeningwizards.com. After a ten year career as a journalist, I have moved on to share my passion for gardening. While getting out in the garden is one of my favorite hobbies, and helps me de-stress after a long day in the office, I often found myself frustrated at not getting the results I wanted from my plants. Through blogging, I have uncovered the answer to lots of common problems and now I want to share my knowledge with other horticulture enthusiasts.