KELLER, TWO KINDS OF YARD
Why north Keller gets the mounds and the creek side gets fewer
Fire ants in Keller follow the dirt, not the address. The newer construction off Keller Haslet Road and up toward Mount Gilead sits on heavy clay that was graded within the last few years, and graded ground is the first thing a fire ant queen claims because the grading wiped out the ant species that used to hold it.
Down around Bear Creek, under the forty-year-old oaks and pecans, the soil has settled and the shade keeps the ground cooler, so those yards see far fewer mounds. They still get some, especially in the sunny front lawn, which is why the treatment is part of both of our year-round plans rather than something you decide on later.
WHAT IT COSTS IN KELLER
Nothing extra, if you already have a plan
There is no separate fire ant price. Broadcast bait for the whole yard comes with Home Defender, which runs $30 to $54 a month, and with Complete Home & Lawn Defense at $40 to $73.50 a month, both priced on the square footage of the house rather than the lot.
Most Keller homes land in the middle two bands. A 2,400-square-foot house in 76248 pays $33 to $38 a month on Home Defender; a 3,800-square-foot build in 76244 pays $38 to $46. Nothing is charged to start, nothing is charged to cancel, and there is no contract to sign.
Home up to 1,500 sq ft
$30/mo Home Defender
Fire ant bait included
1,500 to 3,000 sq ft
$33–$38/mo
The typical older Keller home
3,000 to 4,500 sq ft
$38–$46/mo
Most newer builds off Keller Haslet Road
4,500 to 6,000 sq ft
$46–$54/mo
Complete Home & Lawn Defense: $62–$73.50
Every number on this page comes from our published price list. Keller homes get the same table as everyone else; the instant quote reads your square footage and lot size and hands you your own line.
WHAT BAIT WILL NOT DO
The honest limits before you sign up
Bait is slow. Foragers have to carry it down and feed it to the queen, so a Keller yard treated today still has live mounds for two to three weeks, and if you want them gone by Saturday's party this is the wrong tool.
It also cannot stop the next colony walking in. Keller's newer subdivisions are surrounded by lots that are still being graded, and a mated queen can fly in from any of them, which is why one application is never sold on its own and the follow-up visits are what keep the yard clear.
Rain makes it look like it failed when it has not. A downpour floods the lower chambers and the ants push the colony up into a fresh mound within days, so a burst of mounds after a storm is usually a colony that was already there, and it is covered under the plan either way.
DRENCH VS BROADCAST
Why we do not pour anything on the mound
A mound drench kills the workers you can see and misses the queen far more often than not. She moves a few feet with the survivors and rebuilds, so the homeowner in north Keller who drenched three mounds on Sunday finds five the week after and decides the ants cannot be killed.
Broadcast bait spreads a light granule over the entire lawn, including the colonies that have not built a visible mound yet. The workers collect it as food and the colony dies from the inside. The store-bought version works too if you cover the whole yard in early spring during a dry window; most people spot-treat after rain instead, which is the one approach that almost always fails.
THE FIRST VISIT IN KELLER
What we do when we pull up
Walk the lot, count the mounds
We note where the active mounds are and where the ground is sunny and open, because that is where new colonies will settle. On a Keller build with young St. Augustine we also check the sunny strips for chinch bugs while we are there.
Check the forecast, then spread
Bait needs roughly 24 dry hours to be picked up before it goes stale, so if rain is coming we adjust the day. The granules go across the whole yard with a spreader at a very light rate that does not affect the turf.
Set expectations on timing
You will still see mounds for a couple of weeks and that is the bait working its way to the queen. If a mound is sitting in a spot the kids use, tell us and we will pay it extra attention.
