They may not have encountered fire ants before and may not know the dangers. The money you can make on vegetable operations can be high, and the risk can be high. There's a lot of labor involved. If farmers are concerned, we're recommending Extinguish, which contains the active ingredient methoprene. Extinguish is a bait product that acts primarily on the queen.
Worker ants take the poison to their queen who becomes sterile.
Loftin said extension did a demonstration project last year with a Drew County peach grower, who was happy because only one of his pickers was stung by fire ants. Loftin said the proper use of Extinguish was the reason for the successful outcome. This product is an insect growth regulator, and timing is critical. You need to apply it three or four weeks before you harvest because it takes that long to have a significant impact on ant numbers. Loftin said there aren't any studies yet on the economic impact of fire ants on soybean production, but there are investigations underway to see if they affect germination and hurt seedlings.