How To Get Rid Of Fire Ants: 5 Tried-and-True Methods - Bob Vila

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If you’ve ever stepped on a fire ant mound, you already know: They aren’t your average backyard pests. My brother once stomped on a mound at school and…it was not pretty. Fire ants swarm fast, sting repeatedly, and leave behind painful, burning welts that can linger for days. And unlike most household pests, fire ants aren’t just annoying—they can pose a genuine health risk to your family and pets.

Each year, millions of Americans are stung by fire ants, and for those with allergies to the venom, a single encounter can trigger anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction that requires immediate medical attention. That’s why fire ant control is more of a safety issue than you might realize. The good news? With the right approach, you can dramatically reduce fire ant populations on your property and keep them from coming back. Here are four expert-backed methods to help you take your yard back.

WARNING: Fire Ants Can Be Dangerous

Fire ant stings cause painful, pustule-forming welts in most people, but in roughly 2 percent of cases they can trigger severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, more than 80 deaths from fire ant stings have been documented in the United States. If you or anyone in your household has a known allergy to insect stings, consult a medical professional before attempting any hands-on fire ant treatment, and always keep an epinephrine auto-injector nearby, just in case.

How to Identify Fire Ants

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Fire ants are pretty tricky to spot because they look a lot like, well, regular ants. But there are a few easy signs that set them apart. Here’s what to look for:

• Color: Red imported fire ants (the species behind most infestations in the U.S.) are reddish-brown with a noticeably darker abdomen. Black imported fire ants (less common) are dark all over.
• Size: Workers range from about 1/16 inch to 1/4 inch long (roughly the difference in size between the point of a sharpened pencil to the size of its eraser). Unlike most ant species, fire ants vary in size within the same colony. So, if you’re seeing small and large ants working the same mound, that’s a red flag.
• Mounds: Fire ant mounds are dome-shaped piles of fluffy, worked soil, and critically, they have no visible entry or exit hole on top. Most other ant mounds have a central opening. If your lawn is maintained, they may only be a few inches high, but in open or neglected areas, mounds can reach 18 inches or more.
• Behavior: This is the real giveaway. Disturb a fire ant mound and you’ll know immediately: Workers swarm out aggressively and climb up anything vertical (grass, tools, legs) within seconds. Most native ant species don’t react this way.
• The sting test (not recommended): If you do get stung, fire ant venom produces a unique white, fluid-filled pustule within about 24 hours. No other ant species in the U.S. causes this reaction. If you see those blisters, you have your answer.

Where Fire Ants Are Found

If you live in the southern United States (roughly the Carolinas through Texas, and into parts of the Southwest and California) you’re in fire ant territory. This range is still expanding, so homeowners on the fringes of these regions shouldn’t assume they’re safe.

Outdoors, fire ants build their signature mounds in open, sunny areas (lawns, garden beds, along driveways, and near structural foundations). What you see on the surface is only a fraction of the colony. The tunnel network beneath a single mound can go more than 4 feet deep, according to Dr. Hamilton Allen, Vice President of Technical and Safety at Fox Pest Control in Tampa, Florida. That depth is one reason surface-level treatments so often fail.

Indoors, fire ants are less common but far from unheard of. They typically come inside looking for food, water, or shelter, especially during extreme heat, drought, or heavy rainfall. They’ll sneak through gaps under doors, cracks in slab foundations, openings around plumbing and wiring, and even weep holes in brick. According to Trenton Frazer, Lead Entomologist at Aptive Pest Control in Riverton, Utah, “moisture, loose soil, and food sources can all play a role” in attracting fire ants to a given area. This applies indoors, too. Unsealed pet food, kitchen spills, and leaky pipes can be invitations to come inside.

Treating a Fire Ant Mound

Before we get into specific methods regarding how you can kill fire ants, here’s the big-picture principle behind effective fire ant control: you need to kill the queen. If she survives, the colony survives. It’ll just relocate and rebuild, sometimes splitting into multiple new colonies in the process. “Chemical or product disturbance can trigger a single nest to divide into multiple nests,” warns Dr. Allen. In other words, a half-measure can actually make your problem worse.

This is why most pest control professionals recommend a two-pronged approach: broadcast baiting across your yard to reduce the overall population, followed by targeted treatment of individual mounds. Frazer explains why baiting is so central to the strategy: “Worker ants carry the bait down into the mound and feed it to the queen, which helps wipe out the source of the infestation.” Mound-specific treatments (drenches, dusts, or granules) then handle the colonies that remain.

Note: No treatment method will permanently get rid of fire ants on your property. Fire ants are invasive, resilient, and excellent at recolonizing treated areas, sometimes within weeks. The goal is more about sustained control instead of eradication. With that expectation set, here are a few ways to get the job done.

4 Ways to Get Rid of Fire Ants

The right approach to treating fire ants depends on the size of your infestation, your budget, and how hands-on you want to get. Some methods target individual mounds, while others treat your entire yard. A few you can handle on a Saturday morning; others are best left to the pros. Here are four ways to get rid of fire ants, from DIY to professional-grade, along with what to realistically expect from each.

Safety first: Be sure to gear up with protective clothing (long pants, closed-toe shoes, and gloves at a minimum) before you begin. Always read and follow product label instructions, including drying times before allowing kids or pets back into treated areas. Treat during early morning or late afternoon when fire ants are most actively foraging. And whatever you do, never fight fire ants with fire. It’s extremely dangerous and ineffective to ignite a nest with gasoline.

1. Bait the worker ants.

Baiting is the cornerstone of effective fire ant control, and both of our experts agree it should be your starting point. The concept is simple: Worker ants mistake the bait for food, carry it deep into the colony, and feed it to the queen. Once she’s dead, the colony collapses.

Sprinkle a bait product like Amdro Fire Ant Bait Granules around individual mounds or, for better coverage, spread it across your entire yard with a hand spreader. Dr. Allen recommends the broadcast approach: “Most fire ant colonies aren’t readily visible. To address all nests, purchase a bait product that can be distributed across the yard with a hand spreader.”

A few things to keep in mind: baiting isn’t instant. Expect to wait 1 to 3 weeks before you see real results, and larger infestations may need a second application. Frazer notes that ”baits don’t work overnight, but they are thorough.” Apply when ants are actively foraging (early morning or late afternoon) and avoid spreading bait on wet grass or before rain, which breaks down the product before ants can collect it.

2. Drench the fire ant mound.

If you want faster results than baiting, drenching the mound with liquid is a more direct approach. The goal is to flood the colony with enough volume to reach the queen deep underground. You’ve got two options here: one chemical, one not.

Option A: Liquid Pesticide

This is the more effective option of the two. A concentrated liquid insecticide like Bayer’s Tempo kills on contact and leaves active residue that continues to eliminate ants entering or exiting the nest. Mix at least 2 to 3 gallons of solution per mound to ensure adequate penetration. This is a close-range job, so suit up (gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection are non-negotiable). Spilling concentrated pesticide on yourself is no joke.

Option B: Boiling Water

This one’s free, chemical-free, and all over the internet, but let’s be real about what boiling water for ants can and can’t do. Pouring several gallons of boiling water directly into a mound will kill ants on contact, but it’s not getting deep enough to kill the queen.

Frazer explains: “Fire ants build deep underground tunnels that often survive surface-level treatments. You might kill some ants, but the queen and the rest of the colony usually stay alive and keep expanding.” It’s also genuinely dangerous. Carrying pots of boiling water for fire ants across your yard is a burn risk, and you still have to get close enough to a mound full of angry fire ants to pour accurately. If you go this route, treat it as a stopgap, not a solution.

3. Spread a broadcast insecticide treatment.

If fire ants have taken over a large part of your yard, or you want to stop them coming back, a broadcast insecticide is your best bet for wide-area coverage. This is also one of the safer DIY options since you’re spreading granules across your lawn rather than getting face-to-face with an angry mound.

A granular product like Ortho Fire Ant Killer can treat up to 5,000 square feet and stay effective for up to 6 months, doubling as both a killer and a preventative against new colonies. Use a broadcast spreader for even coverage on larger yards—hand-tossing works for small areas, but you risk uneven distribution. Dr. Allen notes that there’s also a professional-grade granular treatment “that can be performed by a properly licensed pest control applicator once a year” if you want maximum year-round protection.

One thing to watch: Some granular products are light-sensitive and can lose effectiveness if ants don’t pick them up quickly. Apply in the early morning or late afternoon when ants are actively foraging, and avoid spreading right before rain (or when your sprinklers come on).

4. Call a pest professional. 

If mounds keep reappearing despite your best DIY efforts, or you’d rather not deal with fire ants up close at all, it’s time to bring in a licensed pest control professional. Frazer puts it simply: “A professional can spot hidden colonies, apply the right mix of treatments, and help keep ants from reestablishing.”

Pros have access to restricted-use products that aren’t available over the counter. One example is Topchoice from Envu (formerly Bayer), a fipronil-based granular insecticide that provides up to a full year of fire ant control with a single application. It’s classified as a restricted-use pesticide due to its toxicity to aquatic life, so only certified applicators can purchase and apply it. Dr. Allen considers this kind of professional-grade annual treatment the gold standard: “While more expensive, this treatment provides the best protection all year round.”

Expect to pay around $600 per acre for a professional treatment. It’s not cheap, but potentially worth it if you’re dealing with a severe or recurring infestation. And, as Frazer notes, “the sooner the problem is handled fully, the less likely it is to spread or get worse over time.”

How to Get Rid of Fire Ants in Your House

Fire ants sometimes find their way indoors (thanks to extreme heat, drought, or heavy rain) in search of food, water, or shelter. Most of the time they’re foragers from an outdoor colony, not a sign of a nest inside the house. But either way, you want them gone.

First, find where they’re getting in. Look for trails along baseboards, windows, and plumbing entry points. Small piles of soil near a gap are a giveaway. Then:

• Kill visible ants with a contact insecticide labeled for indoor use.
• Use indoor-formulated baits only. Outdoor baits will attract more ants inside.
• Seal entry points. Caulk around windows, door frames, plumbing, and wiring.
• Get rid of attractants. Store pet food in sealed containers, clean up crumbs, and fix leaky pipes.
• Treat the outdoor source. Locate and treat the mound they’re foraging from using one of the methods above.

If ants keep coming back or you think they’re nesting inside a wall or under your slab, call a professional.

Fire Ant Removal Method Myths

The internet is full of creative fire ant solutions. Some are harmless but useless; others can make the problem worse. Here are a few to skip:

• Grits or instant rice. The theory: ants eat the dry grains, they expand in the stomach, ants explode. Satisfying to imagine, but fire ants only like liquids. The grains just sit there.
• Club soda. The idea is that the carbonation suffocates the colony. It doesn’t. At best, you’ll drown a few surface-level workers. This myth has been debunked by Texas A&M researchers.
• Vinegar or dish soap. These may kill ants on contact, but they won’t penetrate deep enough to reach the queen. You’ll scatter the colony, not destroy it.
• Digging up the mound. This is one of the worst things you can do. Frazer warns that “disturbing or destroying the mound without treating it can cause the ants to scatter, attack, act more aggressively, and rebuild elsewhere.” Disturbance can also trigger colony splitting—turning one problem into several.
• Gasoline. We said it in the safety section and we’ll say it again: Never ignite a fire ant mound. It’s dangerous, it’s environmentally destructive, and it doesn’t work.

How to Prevent Fire Ants

There’s no way to guarantee fire ants won’t show up on your property, especially if you live in their territory. But you can make your yard a lot less inviting and catch new colonies early before they become a full-blown problem.

Outdoors

• Keep your lawn maintained. Mow regularly and trim vegetation away from your home’s foundation. Fire ants prefer sunny, open areas, but overgrown edges give them cover to nest close to your house unnoticed.
• Reduce moisture. Fix leaky spigots, irrigation heads, and drainage issues. Frazer notes that “moisture, loose soil, and food sources” are key factors that attract fire ants to a given area.
• Treat preventatively. Both of our experts stress that fire ant control is ongoing, not one-and-done. A broadcast bait application two to three times a year (think: Easter, Fourth of July, and Labor Day as an easy reminder) can keep populations down before mounds appear.
• Inspect regularly. Walk your yard after rain, when new mounds are most visible. The sooner you catch a colony, the easier it is to treat.

Indoors

• Store food (pet food too!) in sealed containers.
• Clean up spills and crumbs.
• Seal gaps around windows, doors, plumbing, and wiring.
• Keep mulch and debris away from your foundation.

Fire ants are relentless recolonizers. As Frazer puts it, “The sooner the problem is handled fully, the less likely it is to spread or get worse over time.” Prevention isn’t about perfection, it’s about consistency.

FAQ

Q. What is the best way to get rid of fire ants?

The most effective method for getting rid of fire ants is to broadcast bait across your yard, followed by targeted mound treatments. This two-pronged approach gets bait to the queen (the only way to actually kill a colony) while knocking out visible mounds. For severe infestations, call a licensed pest control professional.

Q. What do you do if a fire ant bites you?

Wash the area with soap and water, apply a cold compress, and resist the urge to pop the white pustules that form. Over-the-counter antihistamines and hydrocortisone cream can help with itching and swelling. If you experience dizziness, difficulty breathing, or swelling beyond the sting site, seek emergency medical attention immediately (these are signs of anaphylaxis).

Q. What causes fire ants in your house?

Usually extreme weather (heat, drought, or heavy rain)  drives them indoors looking for food, water, or shelter. Unsealed pet food, crumbs, moisture from leaky pipes, and gaps around windows and plumbing all make it easier for them to get in and stick around.

Q. Will Dawn dish soap kill fire ants?

No. It can kill individual ants on contact, but it won’t eliminate a colony. The soap doesn’t penetrate deep enough to reach the queen, so the surviving colony will just relocate.

Q. Will apple cider vinegar kill fire ants?

No. Same story. It may kill a few ants on the surface, but it has no meaningful effect on the colony. University researchers have tested vinegar as a fire ant remedy and found it ineffective.

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