Protect Your Family from Red Imported Fire Ants with Tips from TopChoice™and nofireants.com

MONTVALE, N.J., April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Dish soap, oatmeal, grits, citrus rinds, bleach, gasoline, and fire - Americans will try just about anything to rid their properties of red imported fire ants.

"Americans are pretty creative. Unfortunately, since a fire ant colony may extend underground 20 feet, and may be sixteen feet across, trying these 'remedies' is like pouring hot water on an iceberg," says Dr. Nate Royalty, entomologist at Bayer Environmental Science(R). "Fire ants are a recurring problem, and also a potentially dangerous one, if you consider the allergic reactions that many people experience in response to their stings. I probably would try the same wacky methods too if I didn't know a better way to defeat them – TopChoice."

Fire ants sting an estimated 20 million people each year and Americans spend $2 billion annually in property damage, treatment and medical bills. Ten to 15 percent of the general population experiences a severe localized allergic reaction to a sting. Children, the elderly and pets are the most at risk for fire ant stings. In fact, more children are stung each year by fire ants than all other insect species combined.

Fire ant mounds, the most visible part of a colony, are located in almost any soil type and most commonly found in open, sunny areas. The average colony contains 100,000 to 500,000 workers, whose job it is to protect and feed the queens.

"Fire ants are aggressive - swarming over anyone or anything that disturbs their nest," says Royalty. "Nests are not only found in turf and ground cover, but often in the vicinity of devices that put out electrical currents. These pests often cause considerable damage to heat pumps, telephone junction boxes, air conditioners, transformers, traffic lights and gas pumps."

Nowadays, the fire ant is a widespread health threat. Fire ants currently infest more than 325 million acres across the southern United States and from Florida to California, and expanding further north each year. The United States Department of Agriculture and University of Arkansas predict red imported fire ants will likely move 50 to 100 miles north into Oklahoma and Arkansas. They will also likely continue expanding into portions of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.

To help protect your family, TopChoice from Bayer Environmental Science and nofireants.com recommend five tips to prevent an accidental fire ant encounter:

1. Avoid sandy, worked soil with a dark grey or black color-mounds range from low-to-the-ground to 18 inches high.
2. Watch your step: Mounds have no central opening like many common ant species.
3. Know your surroundings: Fire ants prefer warm, sunny areas and can appear along a sidewalk, the base of a tree and even a playground or park.
4. Fire ants are aggressive: When disturbed, a fire ant mound will come alive quickly appearing to bubble over like boiling water.
5. Schedule a professional treatment if you find fire ant mounds on your property. To find a professional logon to nofireants.com.

Traditional methods of controlling fire ants consist of treating individual mounds. Soil drenching, injections, dusts, baits or fumigants provide a quick kill, but do not always kill all the ants, eliminate the queens, or keep them out of the turf for a sustained period.

Now, there's new method recommended by many lawn care and pest control professionals to combat these pests. TopChoice, a professionally applied product, offers a proactive approach to fire ant control by not only eliminating existing mounds, but also preventing any new mounds for one year.

"TopChoice is simply the best option for controlling fire ants," says Royalty. "Homeowners should talk with their lawn care or pest control professional and visit http://www.nofireants.com for more information."