Read the pesticide label very carefully before starting and make sure you follow all directions and precautions listed.

Put on your proper personal protective equipment (PPE) including chemical resistant gloves, eye protection, long sleeved shirt, long pants, and closed toed shoes plus socks.

Combine the water and pesticide (Tango™ or Provaunt®) in a bucket.

Start mixing at a slow speed with your drill and paint mixer attachment (kitchen whisk modified so it can be fitted into the drill chuck also works well) and very slowly add the Xanthan gum. Continue to mix at the highest speed safely possible until everything is evenly combined. It should look like a thick, sticky goop. It can be difficult to mix the Xanthan gum so be patient and dust it in very slowly. If not thoroughly mixed, little lumps can clog the nozzle of spray equipment.

Add the peanut butter and mix thoroughly. Then add the oil. At this point, the oil will sit on top of the water/xanthan mixture. Mix at high speed until evenly combined. The bait should now have the same  consistency as thin pudding or gravy.

Pour gel bait into the ZEP spray bottle using a funnel. If treating a larger area, a Jacto backpack sprayer is well-suited to hold larger quantities of gel bait. Broadcast gel bait around your property at a rate of 1-2 gallons per acre. Apply on a day with 4 hours of dry weather after treatment. Repeat treatment every 4-6 weeks. After completing a year of treatment, check your property for LFA. If still present, continue treatment.

• Although the pesticides we recommend are very safe, it is good practice to wear protective equipment whenever handling and mixing pesticides, no matter how benign. You never know if you are chemically sensitive or even allergic to a particular product.
  
• Only make enough bait for immediate use and do not store excess bait – it spoils quickly. A quart of bait is sufficient to treat 5,000 square feet. For larger areas, use 1-2 gallons per acre based on foliage density.
  
• It’s easy to think that if a little bit is good, more must be better. As far as bait products are concerned, this is definitely not the case. Some pesticides are repellent at higher doses, but not detectable at lower doses. Other chemicals act too quickly in high doses, not giving worker ants enough time to share the bait with nest-mates. Additionally, using pesticides at higher rates than listed on the label contravenes pesticide use laws and regulations. It is important that the pesticide rate is exactly correct.
  
• Be sure to use fresh oil in the mixture. Don’t use rancid oil because ants will not be attracted to spoiled oil.

• We often use powdered beef liver in place of peanut butter (use the same amount). This makes the finished bait even more attractive to LFA workers, which means they will bring more bait back into the nest. Powdered beef liver is available from health food stores and also online through E-Bay. If using beef liver, add it to the water before adding xanthan.
  
• Xanthan gum is a thickener used in cooking. It is a very important ingredient that stabilizes (prevents the oil and water from separating) and also thickens the mixture so it will stick to vegetation. Health food stores often carry xanthan in stock as a gluten-free food thickener.
  
• If you continue to have issues with your ZEP bottle clogging, mix the Xanthan gum, peanut butter, and oil in a separate bucket, and then add it the water mixture. Xanthan gum clumps less and peanut butter mixes easier when added to oil first. You may choose to pass the gel through a sieve to strain out any clumps (optional).