Red Imported Fire Ant Control in Leon Springs and The Dominion
Around Leon Springs and The Dominion, fire ants usually announce themselves as a crumbly dome of soil that wasn't there before the last rain, or as a line of red ants marching out of an AC pad. Confirm that they really are red imported fire ants first, then plan a bait-led approach with spot treatment for the few mounds that sit where people walk.
Text or call Pest Trappers at (210) 281-1064, or pick a slot through our booking page, and a technician can look at the mounds with you.
Is this a red imported fire ant mound? #
Signs to check first:
- Workers are reddish brown and come in mixed sizes, from about 1/16 to 3/16 inch, all in one colony.
- Poke the mound with a long stick. Imported fire ants race up it; few native ants climb like that.
- The mound is loose, fluffy soil with no opening on top. In a mowed lawn it may stand only a few inches high.
- A sting becomes a white pustule within a day or two.
A central entrance hole, or ants that don't charge upward, points to one of the native ants instead. A lone, fuzzy red-and-black "ant" racing over bare ground is something else again: a velvet ant, which is really a wingless wasp.
Camp Bullis, two counties and the quarantine line #
Camp Bullis, once called the Leon Springs Military Reservation, straddles Bexar and Comal counties, according to the Army. Both counties appear on the Texas Department of Agriculture's fire ant quarantine list, so the rule follows you on either side of the county line.
For a typical household nothing changes. It matters when you send soil, sod, rooted plants in soil, hay or straw that sat on the ground, or used dirt-moving equipment out of the quarantined area. Each of those needs a certificate or permit first.
On open ground such as fence lines and pasture edges, AgriLife counts 40 to 150 mounds per acre where single-queen colonies dominate.
Why go light near the caves? #
North and northwest Bexar County is cave country. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists nine endangered cave invertebrates in caves there, and it names both pesticides and non-native fire ants as threats to them. So control the ants, but sparingly and strictly by the label.
A plan you can start this month #
AgriLife's Two-Step Method is the core of yard control:
- Spread fresh bait across the whole yard on a dry day with no rain expected for a day or two. Ants carrying a pinch of it off within about half an hour means they're feeding.
- Then treat just the mounds that cause problems, such as the ones by the back door, the swing set or the AC unit.
On timing, AgriLife's L-5070 favors May through September for most of Texas and moves baiting to the evening when daytime soil runs above 90 °F. The Two-Step page also suggests a broadcast from late August to mid-October. AgriLife expects 80 to 90% control, but only after weeks to months.
Things to leave out:
- Kitchen fixes. Grits, club soda, coffee grounds and molasses all failed to show control in a Texas A&M review.
- Watering bait in, or using a stale bag.
- Boiling water near plants you care about. About 3 gallons per mound kills roughly 60% of colonies, plus the grass around it.
Chest pain, nausea, heavy sweating, shortness of breath, major swelling or slurred speech after stings means go to an emergency room immediately.
How Pest Trappers handles fire ants in Leon Springs and The Dominion #
The visit starts with a walk of the property: where the mounds are, how many, whether ants are in AC units or electrical boxes, and who uses the yard. Tell the technician if anyone at home is highly allergic, because AgriLife notes the Two-Step approach may not suit that household. You'll hear the options in plain language, and every product goes on according to its label. Fire ant control around a home counts as general pest work. We don't offer lawn or ornamental care.
The license on file is Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549), with Travis Lambert as certified applicator. Pricing follows the inspection, and the office confirms your appointment. Our fire ant guide has the full profile, and the Leon Springs and The Dominion page lists the other pests we handle here.