First, check the label and see if it is rated as 'Safe to Use Around Food Crops'. It should be indicated.

Second, is this only in one spot in the garden? How big an area? No reason you can't use the rest of the garden.

Third, flush the area out well with water and/or mix in some fresh compost and soil into the area.

Dave

Wait at least 2 weeks before harvesting/eating anything.

It's got a moderate residual toxicity.

What is the active ingredient? If I am not mistaken, Ortho makes one with Acephate and another with Spinosad. If you've used the one with acephate, you will not be able to harvest vegetables at all. Acephate is a systemic insecticide and will be translocated throughout the plant in a short period of time. That product is labeled strictly for lawns and ornamental beds.

Spinosad, however, is labeled for vegetable garden use.

So, which do you have?

If it's the one with acephate, I'd not drench it with water, unless you are told to by the Ortho people when you call the toll free number on the label. At the very least, you should cover any remaining granules with some soil so that the birds aren't tempted to eat it.

Pesticide labels need to be read with care and followed even more carefully. Hopefully, you've purchased with organic product with Spinosad and not the toxic cholinesterase inhibitor!

Here is a link that might be useful: Acephate information

There is never one fire ant mound. There will be more if you are range of a "lens" or network of mounds. Get some spinosad-based bait and a tea kettle. When you see mounds not near plants, douse them with boiling water. Treat other new mounds with the spinosad product. Check you property every few days and stay on top of it. Can be done!

To get rid of fire ants it takes particular chemicals and they need to be used accurately and with protective clothing which should be removed. I don’t know about the the ortho fire ant product (except the one I looked at granular and 6 month warranty )and the granular fire ant product needs to be applied as label says or you might kill a few but not decent control and it is a continuous using use product at least fall and spring. Note the one I looked at of the fire ant granular is not Acephate. It’s Bifenthrin is the active ingredient and it doesn’t tell you anything else. The label doesn’t have it for use around food plants. You would need to check with Ortho as mentioned. But it does say no animals or human contact until granules watered in and dried. Bifenthrin isn’t a safe product either. Be careful. I use many of these but I read and reread for each action to make sure I do that particular use correctly.

But if you get water soluble Acephate (also kills fire ants and other bugs ) it’s label says it’s not suppose to be used with a low pressure ie handheld sprayer due to blowback on you from wind etc and the size of the droplets may not be appropriate to dispense the right amount. Now what I have which is another brand of same chemical it mentions a number of bug types and the crops - but is very specific (as Orthene is) as to what crops, how, when, at what stage. If you get Orthene (acephate) I would as someone else recommended — call the phone number on the label no matter what you get to make sure you are doing it properly. Or you can go to the ortho website and get the number to call — also read the label on-site. This chemical works well but it is nothing to play with and just spread around or spray around willy/nilly— not smart. It’s been around forever but is one of the more dangerous chemicals. And absolutely not around where children or pets can encounter it wet or even if dried and it rains afterwards soon after spraying etc. . Animals low to the ground or toddlers should never be in the area with it being wet from spraying, dew or rain fall until thoroughly dried to the ground. Sites to check out are National Pesticide Center and the manufacturer (on the product container. This will tell you how it works harmful to us, wildlife, pets, children, etc. As will the product label though it’s always good to check a separate source.

Please note spinosad though it approved for organic farming doesn’t mean it can’t be harmful. For example sulfur is approved for fungal issues but you don’t want to eat or drink it or get it on your skin, body, eyes. etc. You have detergents, things like floor cleaners, alcohols, bug sprays for indoors, etc but they will make you sick or kill you if ingested. Doesn’t mean because it’s approved for home use that it’s safe if used off label directions. People buy stuff all the time and never think to read the label or check the website for complete instructions. SPINOSAD is highly toxic to bees and I worry about it around any pollinators or even my hummers — anything around the flowers or pollen. I would never use when bees etc are active. So I use it before sun comes up and after sunset when most bees etc have gone to nests or settled for the night. Keep in mind besides the bees which you need to pollinate your veggies and fruits or even to get seed pods for self seeding plants or for seed to harvest and re- plant — if you are a butterfly lover — spinosad will kill them. So don’t use it around butterfly plants where they will lay eggs. Know the butterflies you want to keep, what plant they lay eggs on that then feed on the same plants as they become bigger caterpillars that then grow up to be beautiful butterflies. Check the National Pesticide Cemter for this synthetic man made chemical.

Note — Spinosad topical suspension is a novel neurotoxin indicated for the treatment of head lice in children 6 months and older. I’m sure it’s effective but we need to keep in mind this is a relative new product (2003 I believe) and we haven’t had the time to see what it might cause 50 years down the road. I would use it in some cases but just know the way it works - some of the bugs still have to chew on your plant to get it in their system. Others like bees can be effective by just contact spray at that moment. Others have to eat the leaf etc and it stops their digestion and they die from starvation. It’s registered in Canada for example and as in other countries more careful with their citizens who can’t use even a fraction of the chemicals we are allowed — but in Canada it can’t be used for organic gardens or farm operations.

S. spinosa was isolated from soil collected inside a nonoperational sugar mill rum still in the Virgin Islands. There are 20 natural forms and over 200 synthetic forms. We are all smart enough to know we are no longer getting the natural forms at this point. It’s all commercially produced synthetically produced. I don’t know how they get away with saying it’s natural whether it’s organic or not. It’s used all over the world for many issues.

This doesn't have much to do with vegetable gardening, but since someone has resurrected a decade-old thread on fire ants, I thought I'd point out something interesting I just learned. My old standard Amdro, Fire Ant Killer, which is hydramethylnon, actually expires 3 months after opening. Duuuh? Even the Ortho, with acephate, goes south in a year. I sure don't go through a pound of that stuff in three months, and maybe not a year. I put a teaspoon on each random hill. But the pyrethroid bifenthrin, which is another common fire ant chemical, lasts for THREE YEARS after opening. I've switched to that.

Bifenthrin and hydramethylnon, at low exposure levels, aren't particularly toxic to people, according the MSDS. Acephate may be a little more nasty. Formally, they recommend not harvesting for several days after using bifenthrin around vegetables. Don't take a bath in the stuff or chug a jug of it, though.