Interesting article on ant control. But they didn't mention my favored and most efficient approach here at home - the "Nuclear Option".
When the chemical approach fails, and the mounds are getting out of control, I do the following..... very carefully!
I push a rod down into the mound and twist it around to enlarge the hole - careful because ants will rise up the pole! Pull the pole out.
I then pour a quarter cup of gasoline down the hole, followed by dribbling some around the mound. Stand back and keep fuel can away from the site. Toss a match first onto the gas surrounding the mound, then into the small hole.
You hear a satisfying "Whoomp!" as the Dresden Effect (after the German city firebombed in WWII) happens, then whatever ants were outside the nest will attack the surrounding fire. Instant crispy critters! The mound is dead, as the fire soon dies out. I have seldom ever had a nest become active again.
My theory is that beyond the immediate burning f ants near the surface of the nest, the fire essentially sucks the oxygen up out of the depths of the nest and asphyxiates the deeper residents. As the guy said in the movie "Starship Troopers".... "Shoot a nuke down a bughole, you got a lot of dead bugs!" Works for me.
Always keep in mind, the nest of the fireant can be up to eighteen feet deep and heavily branched. This why chemical means often don't work.
