Advion Fire Ant Bait, 2-lb. Shaker Bottle, Highly Effective Fire Ant Bait, Formulated with 0.045% Indoxacarb, Outdoor Use, for Fast-Acting Control of Fire Ants

The media could not be loaded. OVERVIEW:That's right, "European" Fire Ants (Myrmica Rubra). I live in the NE US and they are an invasive species that is slowly becoming more and more of a problem, much like it's southern cousin. Never heard of them before 4 years ago, when I was stung dozens of times standing on a patio stone. I also have experience with the Southern variety as my mom lived in Florida. Some drainage work was done on my property 6 years ago and loads of top soil was brought in by the company to re-seed. I suspect this top soil was the source of the Fire ants as I had never seen them before then. The University of Maine conducted an in depth study. They specifically recommended this product (Advion) as the most effective treatment.THE ENEMY:These ants are not as aggressive as their southern cousins from S. America. Same size 3-4mm. Reddish to dark brown. They are not as fast and don't swarm as quickly. The individual sting is about as painful as their cousins, they'll just likely be less of them on you at once. They also don't build mounds of any kind which makes them harder to spot initially...until someone gets stung. Each individual colony can number in the 10s of thousands, have up to 100 queens that can live for up to15 years and utilize multiple nest sites with dozens of entrances. All this gives the ants tremendous flexibility and survivability to most measures. Left unchecked....they will take over large portions of a yard making it unusable...just like their cousins in the south.THE SITUATION:My yard was getting pretty infested with about 15-18 individual nests that I identified over a total of around 2000 sq/ft. Again, no mound of any kind makes it hard to detect until you learn what to look for. Look for the ants themselves and follow there foraging trails to nest and mark with sticks/stakes. For about 3 years I was trying other brands and homemade boric acid bait with limited to no success. Every year they were expanding. I then came across the UMaine articles recommending this product. After 2 days.....I no longer can find a single nest of Fire ants. They appear to have been completely eradicated. All the native, small brown ants, the ones that make little sand hills...seem to have been unaffected. This proves it's target use on Fire ants. The fact it only targets Fire ants (or other ants like them maybe) may be pro or a con depending on your situation.HOW TO APPLY:There two ways to apply this product. Broadcast or spot targeting each nest. Make sure it will not rain for 24 hours the day of application. The product is lightweight, bright yellow granules. Softish material the ants can easily grasp and move. I recommend the 2 pound jug for the money. I first used my Scotts seed spreader on setting 2 to cover the heavily nested areas evenly. Used about half the jug. I marked all of the identified nests I could find with tall bamboo stakes so I could easily monitor the results (see pic..notice deer tracks, lol). The next day, instead of seeing hundreds of workers foraging...I saw zero activity on 80% of the nests(see pic of nest w/no ants). I then looked VERY thoroughly for remaining nests. I found 5-6 more that were still active as they were outside of the initial targeted area of the spreader or were on the boarders and didn't get enough product. I applied just 1/2 teaspoon around each nest in a couple of small piles (see pic w/product). Because the granules are bright yellow, you can actually see the ants immediately pick up the stuff and start carrying it back to mom and the rest of the brood (see video). Very satisfying to see it work so fast. Little yellow dots moving down the holes..."look what I found Mom!"THE RESULT:The day after targeting individual nests after the initial broadcasting...I saw no ants. After 4 days....still no sign of any Fire Ants, ANYWHERE on my property! Now, I have no doubts there are some nests just off my property and they will be back in the future. It's probably inevitable. But I'll be ready to attack the nests as they come. The rest of the jug I have should last a few seasons as long as it doesn't expire. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! My yard is now completely usable again with no fear of pets, children or adults getting stung. Well worth the price in my opinion considering it will cost hundreds, possibly thousands to have it done professionally. Good luck folks!!

Works exactly as it should. The red piles are thousands of dead ants that died within 72 hours of application, my lawn is 1200sq ft and had 5 ant hills this took care of all of them

Works good

I used this product once and it surely does eliminate visual ants. However, these ants in Texas do not give up. They certainly do make their way back.

Excellent, killed ants in 24 hours

Works in one application

Have been using amdro for years which I liked. But thought I'd try this and seems the fire ants built up immunity to amdro? Because this has outlasted any other treatment I've used. It's great! Switch it up.

Once I figured out an easy way to apply, this is simple and fast to use. I don't use a spreader, just tip the jug sideways and quickly squeeze the jug so that there is a burst of air and it will carry a nice spray of granules out of the jug. It takes a few tries to figure out how far to tip, but once you get a feel for it, it works well. I use very little each time as it doesn't take much to work. I mostly do this near known mounds but will sometimes apply near our rear fence to keep new infestations at bay.I have a small lawn (50' x 120') and a jug lasts me 2 years. I live in East-Central Texas and fire ants are very common. We have a wooded commons area behind the house that ensures a never-ending supply of fire ants, so it's an ongoing battle.