Winter is a beloved season across North Texas for many residents. This season brings cooler temperatures along with a much-needed break from our routine lawn care.
It’s a time we can look toward spring and summer, and begin mapping out any new landscaping ideas, or simply thinking through when we can tackle seasonal and annual maintenance for our lawns.
However, one thing no homeowner looks forward to this spring, or summer, is fire ants in our yards. These are no fun pests to deal with so you can feel better hiring a professional pest control company for fire ant treatments.
What Are Fire Ants?
Are you unsure if you have Fire Ants in your yard? Fire ants vary in size, are generally small, aggressive, and sting relentlessly.
They are reddish brown in color and have abdomens darker than the rest of their body. Fire ants can create numerous and conspicuous amounts of mounds that consist of loose soil above the ground.
They use these mounds as a way to regulate temperature and moisture conditions throughout the colony.
Mounds tend to pop up during cooler weather or after heavy rain. They can also appear from colonies who have been living underground from a long time, or when ants are cleaning out tunnels and preparing for mating.
What to Expect with Our Fire Ant Treatment?
Our trained professionals will arrive at your home wearing a full Gecko Green uniform and driving a Gecko Green company vehicle. They will begin with an inspection of your property, assessing the level of your fire ant invasion, and create a treatment plan based on your needs.
After discussing options with the homeowner, they will then apply one of our Fire Ant treatments, or schedule a time to return for the application.
At Gecko Green, we have two different Fire Ant Treatments available.
Our first and best option is Top Choice, a product we will apply to your turf grass once a year. This product is a granular insecticide that is spread over your lawn, and then activated when watered into your soil. The product will bind to the soil, creating a barrier of insecticide that will kill existing mounds and any fire ants that pass through the barrier.
Top Choice is so effective in controlling Fire Ants for two reasons: first, it is a non-repellant insecticide, which means it is undetectable by the Fire Ants; second it is formulated to be slow acting, which allows social insects like Fire Ants to spread the product throughout the colony before it begins to eliminate the ants.
The active ingredient in this product is called Fipronil which has been proven to be most effective in combating Fire Ant infestations over long periods of time. Assuming the barrier is not disturbed by any digging or excessive pooling of water, Top Choice is guaranteed to be effective for up to one year
Our second option is a fire ant bait, which destroys the colony by attacking its food supply. Given the feeding habits of fire ants, this method can be extremely effective.
The bait is spread throughout your lawn and is highly attractive to the worker ants who are foraging for food for the entire colony, as well as the queen. The bait will be picked up by the ants, transported and fed to the entire colony, and will effectively be able to eliminate the entire population of this colony.
The bait is also slow acting, meaning it will allow the worker ants enough time to continue to spread the product throughout the colony before killing them. Fire ant bait is applied twice annually, once in the spring, and then again in the fall. Fire ant bait is guaranteed to be effective for six months.
The Gecko Green Guarantee
Our expert technicians are licensed and trained to deliver exceptional service. Having over 20 years of experience, their treatment options can eliminate your fire ant problem the first time around.
We are so confident in our fire ant treatment that if they come back before the 6 month or 1 year mark, then so do we! We will gladly return to retreat your property, free of charge! Call us today for a free quote!
