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Farm Pond Fire Ant Management

Last Updated: March 11, 2010

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Fire ant mounds near a farm pond. Photo by Bart Drees.

Any bodies of water on the farm are attractive to imported fire ants, which must have access to surface or subsurface sources of water to survive. Worker ants will forage heavily along shorelines, and colonies will continually migrate closer to sources of moisture. This can create problems for fishermen who may not be able to stand on a shoreline without being attacked by stinging ants.

Most insecticides are toxic to aquatic organisms including fish. Products containing high concentrations of rotenone and pyrethrins may be particularly hazardous while others such as acephate (Orthene) have lower toxicity to aquatic animals. Orthene is not registered for use in hay or cattle pastures. Bait-formulated products registered for the appropriate use site such as hay pastures can be broadcast near water edges of farm ponds if care is taken not to broadcast particles into the water. Applications may need to be made more frequently around these areas to maintain control because of the favorable habitat for ants that the water provides.

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