Lawn & pest control
How to get rid of fire ants in your yard
Two steps to a fire-ant-free lawn: kill the mounds you see, and prevent the ones you can’t.
Fire ants are one of the most frustrating pests a homeowner can deal with. Their mounds seem to appear overnight, their stings genuinely hurt, and knocking down one mound often just sends the colony to rebuild a few feet away. The good news: getting rid of them for real isn’t complicated once you understand that there are two different jobs, killing the mounds you can see, and preventing the ones you can’t yet. The best approach usually does both.
Why fire ants are so hard to get rid of
A single fire ant mound can hold hundreds of thousands of ants and, critically, one or more queens buried deep inside. If a treatment kills the workers you see on the surface but doesn’t reach the queen, the colony bounces right back. Worse, disturbing a mound (poking it, flooding it with plain water, or using a product that only kills on contact) can trigger the colony to relocate and split, turning one mound into several. That’s why the goal isn’t just “kill ants on contact,” it’s getting the treatment down to the queen, and stopping new colonies from establishing in the first place.
The two-step approach
Step 1 · Treat the mounds you see
Acephate Pro 75
A systemic insecticide, which matters here: fire ants are controlled more effectively by ingestion than by contact, so when foraging ants carry the treatment back into the mound, it moves through the colony toward the queen rather than just killing surface workers.
1 to 2 teaspoons evenly over each mound
Step 2 · Prevent new mounds
Up-Star Gold Granular
A broadcast granular with Bifenthrin that controls fire ants plus many other lawn pests. Spread across the lawn and watered in, it creates a treated zone that stops new colonies from establishing. The label notes that a broadcast application gives up to six months of residual activity against foraging fire ants and newly mated fly-in queens.
Broadcast across lawn · water in after applying
In fact, the Up-Star Gold Granular label spells out that the best fire ant control combines both jobs: broadcast the lawn to catch foraging workers and fly-in queens, and treat individual mounds directly. Here’s how each part works.
Step one: treat the mounds you can see
For active mounds, Acephate Pro 75 is a strong choice. Application is simple: sprinkle 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dry powder evenly over each mound. For best results, treat in the early morning or late afternoon when ants are most active, and avoid disturbing the mound before you apply, you want the colony calm and foraging, not scattered. One important label rule: don’t treat the same mound more than once per season. Also note the grass right around a treated mound may be injured, that’s normal for a spot treatment.
If you’d rather use one product for both jobs, Up-Star Gold Granular can also treat mounds directly: sprinkle about 1/2 cup on the mound, then drench it with 1 to 2 gallons of water with enough force to break the mound’s apex so the solution flows down into the tunnels. Applied this way in cool weather, it reaches the queen.
Step two: prevent new mounds with a broadcast treatment
Killing existing mounds solves today’s problem. Stopping new ones is what actually gives you a fire-ant-free yard. Apply Up-Star Gold Granular with a standard broadcast or drop spreader for even coverage, then water it in to move the active ingredient into the thatch and soil where ants travel and nest. Applied ahead of peak fire ant season (late spring into summer), a broadcast treatment provides long residual protection and does far more than chasing individual mounds all year.
A simple yearly plan
Spring: broadcast Up-Star Gold Granular across the lawn to establish a protective zone before fire ant season ramps up
As mounds appear: spot-treat each one, with Acephate Pro 75 (once per mound, per season) or an Up-Star mound drench
Treat mounds in cool conditions: early morning or late evening, ideally 65 to 80°F, when ants are near the surface
Water in any broadcast granular application so the active ingredient reaches where ants actually live
A few safety notes
Both products are for outdoor use and should be used strictly according to their labels. Keep pets off treated areas until granules are watered in and surfaces are dry. Acephate Pro 75 is toxic to birds and highly toxic to bees on blooming plants, don’t apply where bees are actively foraging. Up-Star Gold Granular is extremely toxic to fish and aquatic life, so keep it at least 25 feet from lakes, ponds, and streams. And any measuring spoon or cup used for these products should never be used for food afterward. Fire ant stings can cause serious allergic reactions in some people, so wear closed shoes and long pants and stay clear of disturbed mounds until the treatment has worked.
Common questions
Are these products safe to use around pets?
Follow the label: keep pets off treated areas until granular applications have been watered in and any treated surfaces are dry. Note that Acephate Pro 75 is toxic to birds per its label, so it isn’t suited to yards with chickens or pet birds, and Up-Star Gold Granular is extremely toxic to fish, so keep it away from ponds and water features.
Will treating a mound damage the grass around it?
The grass in the immediate treated spot may show some injury, the Acephate Pro 75 label notes this. It’s localized to the mound area. A broadcast application of Up-Star Gold Granular at the labeled lawn rate is designed for whole-lawn coverage and won’t harm established turf when used as directed.
How often can I treat a fire ant mound?
With Acephate Pro 75, the label says do not treat a mound more than once per season. If mounds keep appearing, the better long-term approach is a broadcast application across the lawn to prevent new colonies, rather than repeatedly treating the same spot.
Why do fire ant mounds come back after I treat them?
Usually because the queen survived. Surface sprays and mound-disturbing methods kill visible workers but often miss the queen deep in the colony, so it rebuilds. A systemic treatment that foraging ants carry back into the mound, or a mound drench that reaches the tunnels, gets to the queen far more reliably.
Does mound treatment actually reach the queen?
That’s the goal of both methods. Systemic Acephate Pro 75 is carried into the mound by foraging ants, and an Up-Star Gold Granular mound drench flows down into the tunnels toward the queen. Reaching the queen is what stops the colony from rebuilding.
Is one mound treatment enough, or do I need to treat the whole yard?
Mound treatment handles the colonies you can see; a broadcast treatment prevents the ones you can’t. The Up-Star Gold Granular label actually recommends combining both, broadcasting the lawn plus treating individual mounds, for the most complete fire ant control.
Ready to take back your yard?
Contact Agrisel to find a reseller carrying Acephate Pro 75 and Up-Star Gold Granular for your fire ant program.