Antixx and Firefighter are both granular baits recommended by the Hawaii Ant Lab (HAL) to manage Little Fire Ants (LFA). Recently, we discovered that some of these products have been sitting on the shelf for too long and/or have compromised seals causing them to go rancid. LFA are picky eaters, so if the bait is not fresh, the ants will not eat the bait and it will not be effective. HAL has been working with the manufacturer to resolve the freshness issue. Hawaii should be receiving a new fresh batch of Antixx and Firefighter by the end of March 2021.
If you have recently purchased Antixx or Firefighter, please check for freshness before use. There is a stamped code on each package. In this example image above, it is 21 294 00010631001. The first two digits represent the year it was packaged (21 = Year 2021). The next three digits represent the day of the year it was packaged (294 = Day 294 = October 21). Therefore, this bottle was packaged on October 21, 2021.
The manufacturer recommends using the bait within six months of its production. If you have product made in 2020, it’s likely too old. If you notice punctures in new bags or that the foil seal on a new jug of bait has failed, the bait may have spoiled, regardless of manufacturer date. Fresh bait should be fluffy corn grit and smell like fresh vegetable oil. If you notice the bait is clumpy and/or has a rancid smell when opening a new package, do not use the bait and report it directly to Neudorff at info@neudorff.com for compensation.
