# Pre-treat or not to pre-treat? Fire Ants



## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

Just a suggestion, I would first go to your local county agricultural department or professional exterminator for your area and ask them what's the best way to get rid of them. They may know more about your specific location and be able to help. Just a thought.

If no help there, then I would excavate, wait a couple weeks, see where they pop up afterwards, then treat the mound. As you probably know, the queen must be killed to destroy the nest. I'm sure you'll kill a few queens during the excavation process. However, you'll never get rid of all of them anyway. It's an ongoing process that you will have to stay on top of. Be vigilant.

Stay tuned, there are a couple of professional exterminators that are regulars on this forum, maybe they will chime in and give you some more advice. Thanks.


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## Live_Oak (Aug 22, 2013)

You never "get rid of" fire ants. You only reach a sort of detente with them where they aren't in places that you traffic a lot. You learn to live with spotting mounds as a regular maintenance activity, and teach vigilance for them to all family members.


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## Iguana Man (Dec 21, 2013)

Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned that the excavation will be for a manufactured home with brick underpinning. In other words, they'll basically be scratching the surface of the ground and not killing any queens which I assume are going to be deep underground.


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