Fire Ant Treatment Experiment:
Summary and Results
Our results showed that all three mixtures, neem oil mix, orange oil mix, and the combined mix eliminated the fire ants in the original application area for approximately two weeks. In the compost area, where the combination mix was applied, ant activity was not detected for 5 weeks. In the case of both neem oil mix and the orange oil mix a secondary ant mound appeared in close proximity to the original treatment area by the second or third week following the origin application. We concluded that the fire ant mound moved from the original location to a nearby
location.
The major difference between the neem oil mix and the orange oil mix is that the orange oil ‘burned’ the surrounding turf after it was applied.The combination mix applied in the compost area seemed to have the best results. However, it was difficult to tell whether the ant mound that appeared 6 weeks after the initial application was a secondary mound or a new mound. In addition, the quantity of the drench varied by the location based on the ant mound size. Another observation we made is that the penetration of the drench seemed better in the compost area versus the turf areas.
In conclusion, our recommendation is to try one of the methods in the demo garden and use the same treatment method for one growing season to test the effectiveness of the treatment.