Survey your entire lawn. Visually

inspect your property to determine the magnitude of infestation. If one

or more mounds are present, your property should be treated. Check areas

near electrical wiring, telephone exchanges and transformers. Fire ants

will build mounds near consistent heat sources.

Test for foraging. Fire ants

are most effectively treated while they are foraging. To test, simply

throw a potato chip (an ideal bait for fire ants) on or near a mound.

Fire ants are foraging if they appear and begin to eat the chip within

30 minutes.

Protect children and pets.

Pay particular attention to areas where kids play and animals are kenneled.

Children and confined pets are simply defenseless against their stings.

More children are stung each year by fire ants than by all other insects

combined.

Never use gasoline or other

petroleum products. These extremely flammable chemicals are dangerous

to you and the environment. The use of petroleum products is also illegal

in most states. In addition, old-fashioned "cures" like dish

soap, oatmeal, grits, citrus rinds and bleach have no long-lasting effect

against fire ants.

Seek professional advice. Not

only are ants a nuisance, attempting to control them yourself can be expensive,

frustrating and potentially dangerous. If you think you have a fire ant

problem, contact your local lawn care operator and ask for TopChoice from

Bayer Environmental Science. TopChoice is a new curative and preventative

granular insecticide that provides up to 95 percent control of fire ants

for up to one year with only a single broadcast application.

An estimated 40 million people,

primarily in the Southern United States, are in potential conflict with

fire ants on a daily basis. Fire ants stings can cause blisters, allergic

reactions, and in extreme cases, death. These resilient insects also cause

an estimated $2 billion a year in property and equipment damage, injury

to landscapes and gardens, destruction of crops, and illness or death

of pets and livestock.

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