Various fire ant control products are labeled for use in the vegetable garden.
Only a few bait products are currently approved for use in the home vegetable garden:
- Extinguish Fire Ant Bait (methoprene) and Esteem Ant Bait can be used on most cropland and vegetable plots. They are available only in 25 lb bags, which would treat 17-25 acres, so you may have to split a bag with some friends.
- Baits containing the active ingredient spinosad (Ferti-lome Come and Get It!, Payback Fire Ant Bait, and others) can be used on home vegetable gardens.
Certain contact insecticides can be used for individual mound treatments in vegetable gardens. You may also apply baits or other products around but not inside the garden to reduce the overall fire ant population. See Fire Ant Control: The Two-Step Method and Other Approaches
Check the labels for the various products that can be used in home vegetable gardens. Read and follow the directions.
Related Content
- Which bait do I use?
- Home Gardens section of Managing Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas
Find more information about fire ants in eXtension’s Imported Fire Ant Resource Area.
