Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA, for short) are more aggressive than other ant species and have a painful sting. These ants and their telltale mound nests should be actively avoided. Red imported fire ants can adapt to many climates and conditions in and around their environment. For example, if the colony senses increased water levels in their nests, they will come together and form a huge ball or raft that is able to float on the water!

Aliases: Solenopsis Invicta Buren

Those Little Red and Black Ants That Really Hurt When They Sting

Red imported fire ants will build their nests in mounds of soil outdoors, in landscape areas or near a building’s foundation. They occasionally enter buildings through holes or cracks in walls and foundations.

The sting of a red imported fire ant is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely. They are frustrating, not only because of the physical pain they can inflict, but because their mound-building activity can damage plant roots and lead to loss of crops.

For more information see this article from the University of Florida regarding RIFA.

Medical Issues:

A small percent of the world’s animals, including the human population are allergic to the stings of Fire Ants. Those individuals may react to the toxin of stings quickly and fall into anaphylaxis shock and die before emergency responders can arrive. Unfortunately, this has occurred in the states inhabited by fire ants too many times. For others not allergic though, the bites and stings are painful and cause skin irritation and pustules that can scar the skin for life. No one wants to experience the pain of Fire Ant attacks your clients or workers on your property. Additional information is available on the internet at the following links.

Links to University of Florida and others:

For more information please on symptoms and care please visit the University of Florida Health page for red fire ant stings.

General Liability:

To be in the pest control business a company must have certain licenses and certifications. There have been occurrences where non-licensed companies have misrepresented themselves as having the required credentials. Always request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from any provider and make sure your company is listed as “additional insured”. Be sure to ask for three primary types of insurance: General liability, Worker Compensation and Auto Liability. Fire Ant Patrol has a certified operator and is licensed in the state of Florida. FAP carries auto, Workers’ Comp and general liability insurance.

Fire Ant Patrol COI Example:

LITIGATION:

The best protection from litigation for Fire Ant personal injury claims is to aggressively treat to control infestations on your property.

Commercial properties where the public has access are especially important. With a service contract, care has been demonstrated by the owner, although 100% control is not possible or expected. A regular treatment program can provide up to 95% and greater population control, especially with the two and three treatment per year application programs. These programs are supported by the control product manufacturers label. The product label includes a required Environmental Protection Agency registration number verifying it has been tested and does indeed control Fire Ants.

Fire Ant Patrol, Inc. treatments are made according to label directions at the recommended rates of product per acre. We use both remedial and long-term control products often in combination depending upon the seasonal conditions.

During fall applications when Fire Ants are in the process of building brood (mound growth through newly hatched young) and expanding the number of queens in the colony we apply an insect growth regulator (hormone) that interferes with this natural development process.

Disturbed Fire Ant Mound can be very dangerous to humans, pets and wildlife.

Our Process:

First, we do a thorough, free inspection of your home or business. Based on what we find, we will:

• Reduce your red fire ant population by more than 99% by performing three treatments each year.

Best of all, Fire Ant Patrol has one of the best guarantees in the business:

• Free, Detailed Inspections.
• Environmentally Responsible.
• Complete Satisfaction Guaranteed.
• Should a problem arise between regular service, we’ll be back — at your convenience, at no additional cost to you.
• This service covers RIFA only. Many ant species are not controlled by this treatment.

Keep Red Fire Ants out for good – click here to schedule your free inspection today, or call the Fire Ant Patrol at 407-821-7221.

Program Service Frequency:

We offer three programs to choose from. Which is best for your situation?

Three Times Per Year:  This service schedule provides the best protection and performance throughout the year.  Treatments are completed in spring, summer and fall.  With this schedule we are able to reduce populations by up to 99%.

This service schedule is recommended especially for cemeteries, as in this situation the grounds are constantly being disturbed and re-sodded with infested turfgrass.  In addition, visitors introduce fire ants from the home or nursery in flower containers.

Two Times Per Year:  This service is recommended for parks, schools, sports fields, airports, campgrounds and those properties that seldom replace turf or disturb the soil by digging.  Timing of application is spring and fall.  If re-infestation continues, a summer treatment may be required.

Once Per Year:  This service program is based upon remedial (quick relief) treatment and less on prevention.  There is no best time to make a single fire ant bait treatment.  Treatment when the infestation is abundant and causes a threat of danger and needs quick relief is best.  These treatments are better for ranches and farms where human contact is less and infestations can be tolerated at a certain threshold.   

Determining Need:

Land owners can perform a simple test to determine the extent of infestation they may be dealing with.  Simply drop Vienna sausages or potato chips across an area and return in 15 minutes to observe.  If Fire Ants have begun foraging on the oily foods supplied then treatment for control is needed.  This method of inspection in combination with visual telltale signs such as visible mounds will give observers a good idea of the extent to which the Fire Ants have invaded and to what degree the infestation has spread.  Refrain from picking up the sausages or chips as those ants will be very aggressive.  Remember to keep children and pet out of the monitored areas and do not touch infested food pieces.

Our Clients:

Due to the equipment used for application of ant bait, we specialize in large acreage properties.  Generally speaking the properties we treat are regularly 20 – 100+ acres in size.  Under certain situations we do treat smaller areas.  We have residential properties as well but they too are large acreages usually associated with Equestrian, cattle, livestock on farms or ranches.  We also treat a number of large churches, homeowner associations (HMO), campgrounds, cemeteries, parks, sports fields and industrial facilities.  We specialize in large properties and therefore have application equipment which is not suitable for general home lawn areas.   

What to Expect:

Depending upon the chosen program the time to “kill” will vary.  In the case of a one-time treatment expect results in 7-10 days.  Sometimes the mound will remain visible, but the ants have been reduced to the point they no longer can maintain the mound and it will slowly fade back into the soil.  Now that’s not to say that all FAs will be gone but expect a substantial reduction generally up to 85 to 99% control.  If you choose the three treatments per year expect a slower initial population reduction and a timeline more like 14 to 21 days.  This is because the growth hormone works much slower and the reduced amount of active ingredient stomach poison in most combination baits increases time to “kill”.  Fire Ant Patrols treatments are for only a small number of ant species and will not work on all ant species.  Our primary target species is of course the Native and Imported Fire Ant species.  The most common non-Fire Ant species found on properties is the pyramid ants that build cone like mounds.  Most ants other that Fire Ants prefer a different food source (other than oily) and although other species may be reduced in numbers seldom is there control to any degree with our treatments.