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Fipronil (the active ingredient in Top Choice granules) has proven effective when combating ants (including fireants), fleas and other pests for periods longer than other insecticide granules. This active ingredient controls or kills targeted pests at much lower rates than older, conventional insecticides. A good example of new pest control products with smaller yet more effective active ingredients would be to compare Diazinon granules with Top Choice granules.

Though there were a few different formulations of Diazinon (before the active ingredient was pulled from U. S. markets) the most popular formulation contained 0.50 % active ingredient. Top Choice (on the other hand) contains .0143% active ingredient. Modern technologies have provided us with better, safer to handle products that do not require massive amounts of insecticides to control targeted pests.

Many people are familiar with Fipronil granules sold under a different brand name for ant control: Over'n Out! Fireant Granules.

There are three major differences in Over'n Out and Top Choice granules

•     Over'n Out! contains .0103% Fipronil; TopChoice contains .0143 % Fipronil. As mentioned above, Fipronil controls ants, fire ants and other pests using far less active ingredients than conventional insecticide granules. The increase from .0103% to .0143% is far more significant than most realize.

•     Over'n Out! is labeled for the control of fireants. Top Choice granules are labeled for control of ants, fire ants, fleas, ticks and molecrickets.

•     Top Choice is formulated with a superior carrier which will give longer residual than other granules. This superior residual results in longer ant control and fewer re-treatments over a one year period. Top Choice granules will hold up longer to conditions such as rain and regularly scheduled irrigation programs. This is one of the reasons why golf courses prefer Top Choice fipronil granules for the control of fire ants and molecrickets.

Pests Controlled by Top Choice

Besides fire ants, Top Choice is labeled for the control of other lawn pests such as ants, fleas, ticks and molecrickets. These Fipronil granules provide longest residual (control time) for fire ants. Control of molecrickets, fleas, ticks will be longer than other insecticide granules but for shorter periods when controlling fire ants. TopChoice controls fireants for up to one year, molecrickets for up to four months, nuisance ant pests (other than fire ants) up to three months, fleas and ticks for about one month.

Top Choice Fire Ant Control

Fire ants are active most of the year in areas where they are a pest. During cooler seasons these pests are more active and are more likely to respond to your pest management operations. Top Choice can be applied at any time of year but for best results, apply the granules in Spring of the year of Autumn. Spring time is the best for optimal control. As with any long-term ant control product, your best results will be seen by applying the product just prior to the ants most active period or at first sign of infestation. During hot summer months fire ants are visible and are indeed active.

Fipronil, the active ingredient in TopChoice granules, is a slow-acting insecticide. This means that you will not usually see immediate results after application. This slow action is an advantage when getting rid of ants and fire ants. The social life of an ant colony is an important to remember when controlling the pests. Ants do indeed "socialize" in their daily routines, constantly touching each other. This constant and repetitive contact will rapidly spread the insecticide throughout the colony of ants. Once an ant has contaminated itself by foraging through areas treated with Fipronil or has fed on objects in the treated area, the ant will spread Fipronil to each ant it comes into contact with and these ants will spread to insecticide to other ants. If the insecticide were to work too fast, far fewer ants would be affected, lessening the effect of the product. Slow acting Fipronil will give you a more thorough kill of the fire ant colony. With Fipronil, slower is better; slower is more effective. Apply the granules evenly, at the proper time and be patient.

When Top Choice granules are applied to fire ant infested lawns, golf courses, etc., there will be an immediate kill that severely inhibits the ant colony's ability to function and survive. The long residual provided by Fipronil granules kills "stragglers" that managed to temporarily escape. This goes a long way to prevent them from re-establishing healthy colonies. The long residual also helps to prevent other ants from migrating to the treated area. In nature, voids are rarely permanent. When one ant colony or one ant species is eliminated or even severely curtailed, another ant or ants will try to fill the void. Top Choice will prevent fire ants from rebuilding for up to a year and will kill other nuisance ants for about three months.

We apply Top Choice granules in the fall or at first sign that fire ants are in the area. If you miss this prime window of opportunity, you can still apply the granules to fire ant infested grounds. Applications made in heat of summer or when fireant colonies are already established will work but you must be patient as control will take more time. Fire ants are less active in hot weather but will still need to forage during this time period and will come into contact with the Fipronil that has bonded to the soil through which they must travel.

Apply Top Choice through a type of rotary spreader for best results. Trying to apply fipronil granules (or any lawn granules) by hand (without a spreader) will result in poor coverage. You want to make sure that the proper amount of insecticide granules are distributed evenly over the effected area. Gaps in protection will lead to poor control or even failure to kill the targeted pest.