Advantages:
- Relatively fast control of foraging ants
- Organic products
Disadvantages:
- Do not carry OMRI certification to be used in organic production
- Inconsistent effectiveness
- More expensive than some baits
- Requires low-volume spreader
Active Ingredient: 0.015% Spinosad
Similar Products: Payback (Southern Ag Insecticides, Inc.) Come and Get It! (Ferti-lome®), all with Conserve
Application Rate, Broadcast: 1-4 lbs./acre
Speed of Control: relatively fast, 2-4 weeks
Duration of Control: two applications per year are usually needed; varies with reinvasion pressure
Approximate product cost: $20 – 40/acre ($4.50 – $18/10,000 sq. ft.)
Best used for: relatively fast, organic control in home lawns and gardens but cannot be used in commercial organic gardening due to fact that they are not OMRI certified.
Best season for application: fall application has resulted in more consistent control
Sources: retail garden centers, online
Toxicity: extremely low
Agricultural Uses: crops, gardens, pastures (mound treatment only)
Mixing with other products: not recommended
General Comments: Both products are USDA certified as all natural but neither product has the OMRI certification to be used on organic crops. Tests show inconsistent effectiveness, particularly with spring application.
Manufacturer: Spinosad is manufactured by Dow Agrosciences. Individual products formulated and packaged by various distributors. (Link to Dow’s Overview of Spinosad: http://www.dowagro.com/turf/products/insecticides/conserve_additional.htm)
Web sites:
- Payback – http://southernag.com/residential-products/payback-fire-ant-bait/
- Come and Get It! – http://www.fertilome.com/product.aspx?pid=2afe2dd9-79e6-45ea-a776-deb675b131c9
DISCLAIMER
This site is intended to cover only broadcast-applied fire ant control products and slow acting fipronil containing granular products. Literally dozens of products are available as individual mound treatments. Contact your local Extension Agent or return to https://fireant.tamu.edu for more information on individual mound treatments.
Because of the constantly changing availability of fire ant insecticides, it is virtually impossible to include every product on the market. Mention of a product on this site does not imply an endorsement by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the Southern Region IPM Center or any cooperating state. Lack of mention does not imply that the product is not an effective fire ant control product.