![]() ![]() Therefore the amount of drench needed to saturate the mound depends on the size of the mound. The ants are killed by contact with the insecticide. Apply mound drenches by mixing the specified amount of insecticide per gallon of water and pouring onto the fire ant mound. OMRI Listed® fire ant products for individual mound treatments usually contain either spinosad or d-limonene (a component of citrus or orange oil). The advantage to broadcasting baits is that this method is effective on mounds that you cannot see such as small or subsurface ant colonies. If colonies are young or if the weather is hot and dry, mounds may be difficult to locate. Individual mound treatments with baits are also effective if you have a small number of mounds in your yard and can locate them for treatment. Fire ants forage for the broadcast bait and carry it back to the mound to kill the queen. In most cases, a broadcast application according to label directions is the most effective way to use bait products. Bait products may be used by broadcasting over an entire area or as individual mound treatments. Some baits containing spinosad as the active ingredient are OMRI Listed®. Please remember, some “organic” treatments are not necessarily safer or less toxic than conventional insecticides and should always be used as directed and with care. In this section, we will discuss the use of organic insecticides and not consider these other methods that some may consider “organic”. In other use sites such as landscapes including turfgrass and ornamental plant maintenance, “organic” products are defined by the user and may include home remedies and physical and mechanical methods. State and federal organic certification programs are limited to food crop and livestock production systems where only approved organic products are allowed for use. Acceptable products are OMRI Listed® and appear on the OMRI Products List. OMRI provides an independent review of products intended for use in certified organic production, handling, and processing. Products approved as organic are certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI ). Note that not all products that contain naturally occurring active ingredients are completely organic some contain non-organic inert ingredients. Therefore, not every product sold for fire ant control is supported by research-based evidence that it is effective against fire ants. Some of the “organic” products fall into the minimal risk category. These products are called “25 b” products, referring to that clause in FIFRA, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act). In 1996 the EPA established that certain ingredients that pose minimum risk to users no longer require EPA approval to be marketed as insecticides. These products may or may not be registered as pesticides by the EPA and the appropriate state regulatory agency. Several products said to be “organic” (of natural origin) are currently marketed for fire ant control. Application of a broadcast fire ant bait treatment to a lawn using a hand-held spreader.
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