A local farmer noticed some of the broccoli transplants she had set out a week or so earlier were wilting and dying. Fire ant mounds were observed within the beds, and upon close inspection, fire ants could be seen on the stems at the soil line. Upon even closer inspection, the ants could be seen feeding on the stems which caused the wilting and eventual collapse.

Fall is an excellent time to treat fire ant mounds for several reasons:

1. Ants are more likely to be actively foraging when the daytime temperatures are between 70-85°F. They are more likely to pick up bait quickly when they are actively foraging.
   
   
2. When the weather is cooler, the ants are not as deep in the gound. Treatments are more effective when the queen is close to the surface.
   
   
3. Newer ant colonies tend to be fairly small in the fall, making them easier to treat.
   
   
4. Fall is followed by winter, and colonies that have been treated with a bait tend to be more susceptible to the cold weather (especially young colonies) because their numbers have been reduced, leaving fewer workers to forage for food and maintain mound structure (including tunneling deeper to escape freezing temperatures).

Click here to learn about organic fire ant management.

Wilted/collapsed broccoli transplants.

Fire ant mound on far left beside wilted plants.

Close-up of wilted broccoli seedlings.

Fire ant mound surrounding broccoli seedling.

Fire ants feeding on the stem of a young broccoli plant. Fire ants have been found to feed on the seeds, buds, stems, and tubers of over 55 species of cultivated plants.

Close-up of fire ants girdling the plant stem.

Close-up of girdled stem.