Surrender® Fire Ant Killer
75% acephate powder for treating fire ant mounds
Measure 1 to 2 teaspoons over the mound and walk away. Nothing to dilute, no sprayer to fill, and a 1 lb can of the Martin's powder carries enough for up to 108 separate mounds. Treat the colonies you can see instead of covering a whole lawn in insecticide.
How to Use Surrender Fire Ant Killer
Find the active mound
Surrender treats mounds, not lawns. Look for the raised dome of loose soil, and give it a light disturbance with a stick if you need to confirm the colony is still there. Ants boiling to the surface means the mound is worth treating. A crusted, empty mound is not.
Measure 1 to 2 teaspoons
Distribute that amount evenly over the mound. A bigger mound does not earn a bigger dose. The rate stops there, and any single mound gets one treatment for the whole season. A dedicated measuring spoon keeps the can from turning into guesswork.
Treat early or late in the day
Fire ants sit closest to the surface in the early morning and the late afternoon, which is when a surface-applied powder has the most contact with them. Long stretches of hot, dry weather push the colony deeper, and an application made then can miss the ants entirely.
Stay off the area until the dust settles
Nobody goes back into a treated non-agricultural area until the dust has settled. Keep children and pets indoors during that window, then wash your hands before doing anything else.
One treatment per mound, per season
Surrender is not labeled for repeat visits to the same mound every few days. Federal law requires a registered pesticide to be used in the way its labeling directs, so read the full label before you open the can rather than working from an abbreviated list on a retail page.
One Small Can Goes a Long Way
108
Mounds per 1 lb can
A teaspoon is a small amount of product, so a container that fits on one shelf still carries enough for dozens of separate colonies. Actual coverage depends on whether you use the low or high end of the labeled rate.
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Mixing steps
Surrender ships ready to apply. There is no concentrate to dilute, no pump sprayer to fill and prime, and no bucket of mound drench to carry across the yard.
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Treatment per mound, per season
A given mound gets one application for the season, on turf and in non-crop areas alike. If ants show up again later, confirm it is a different mound before reaching for the can.
Surrender Powder, Not a Surrender Spray
Is there a Surrender bug spray?
No. Surrender Fire Ant Killer is a dry white powder in a 1 lb can, and the labeled method is to distribute it over the mound as-is. There is no approved way to dissolve it into a sprayer or turn it into a liquid drench. The powder is the product.
Is Surrender a general bug killer?
No. The turfgrass directions cover fire ants and harvester ants. Certain non-crop sites carry a wider ant direction that still excludes carpenter ants and pharaoh ants. Ants on a kitchen counter are outside what this label allows.
Is this the same as Surrender Fire Ant Bait?
No, and mixing the two up leads to buying the wrong thing. The bait used indoxacarb, novaluron and pyriproxyfen in a granule that foraging ants carried home, and Control Solutions discontinued it in October 2025. Surrender Fire Ant Killer is the 75% acephate powder, still in production, and it works on contact at the mound.
Where You Can Use It, and On What
Turfgrass
Residential lawns, recreational turf and commercial turf all fall inside the labeled directions for mound treatment. Grass in the treated spot can be injured, which is worth weighing before treating a mound in the middle of a lawn you care about.
Labeled pests: Fire ants and harvester ants. Harvester ant control is not registered in California.
Listed non-crop areas
Field borders, fencerows, roadsides, ditch banks and borrow pits appear on the label as treatment sites. This is not a blanket permission for any bare ground on a property.
Labeled pests: Ants, with carpenter ants and pharaoh ants specifically excluded.
How 75% Acephate Works
Acephate is an organophosphate insecticide, classified by the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee as Group 1B. It inhibits acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme insects need to transmit nerve signals normally. Blocking that enzyme costs the insect normal nervous-system function.
In Surrender that active ingredient makes up 75% of the can, with other formulation ingredients accounting for the remaining 25%. Surrender kills fire ants on contact, and it works faster than the fire ant bait Martin's used to sell.
The practical difference sits in that word, contact. A bait has to be found, collected and carried underground before anything happens. Powder distributed over the mound is already where the ants are moving, which is also why the timing of the application matters so much.
Getting the Best Out of One Application
Weather decides more than dose
During a long hot, dry spell the colony moves down and away from the treated surface, and an application made then may do nothing at all. Waiting for milder conditions beats emptying more powder onto a mound that nobody is home in.
Grass can be injured
Surrender can injure the grass it lands on. Around a mound in the middle of a manicured front lawn, expect the treated patch to show. Keeping to the measured amount limits how far that goes.
The smell is normal
Acephate carries a strong sulfur odor, and this one lands somewhere close to rotten cabbage. It is not a sign of a spoiled container. Anyone hoping for a low-odor lawn treatment should factor that in before ordering, and seal the can properly after use.
Placement beats volume
One application per mound per season means the first attempt has to land in the right place. Treat the mound itself rather than scattering powder over the surrounding grass, and time it for when ants are moving at the surface.
Product Specifications
| Product | Surrender Fire Ant Killer Insecticide |
|---|---|
| Brand | Martin’s |
| Registrant | Control Solutions, Inc. |
| Form | White powder |
| Active ingredient | Acephate 75% |
| IRAC classification | Group 1B |
| Primary use | Fire ant mound treatment |
| Labeled turf pests | Fire ants, harvester ants |
| Application rate | 1 to 2 teaspoons evenly over each mound |
| Maximum frequency | One treatment per mound per season |
| Container size | 1 lb |
| Coverage | Up to 108 fire ant mounds |
| EPA Registration No. | 53883-133 |
| EPA Establishment No. | 39578-TX-1 on the referenced market label |
| Product code | 82004964 |
| UPC | 072693049642 |
| Manufacturer location | Pasadena, Texas |
Handling, Storage and the Environment
Read the label and the safety data sheet before the first application.
Signal word: CAUTION
Surrender is harmful if swallowed and irritates the eyes. Do not breathe the dust. Keep it out of reach of children and avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothing.
What to wear
Long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks and shoes, plus chemical-resistant gloves in a waterproof material such as polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride. Wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
Birds, bees and water
Surrender is toxic to birds. It and its degradate are highly toxic to bees exposed directly on blooming crops or weeds. Do not treat blooming vegetation while bees are foraging, and keep it out of water, areas where surface water is present, and intertidal zones below the mean high-water mark.
Storage between treatments
Keep the can closed, in its original labeling, somewhere cool and dry and away from food or feed. Never move the powder into a drink bottle or food container: the original can carries the directions, first aid, EPA registration number and emergency contact. The container is non-refillable, so follow the label for disposal.
What People Who Bought It Say
It’s a very fine powder, and all it takes is the very Slightest Amt. sprinkled on them and they head for the hills. A fellow down at our hometown Hardware store told me about it – he said it’s the best ever, and he’s right. I lear...
TigerMan
I have a property in NC that we use for camping, cooking over a fire, etc. Several years ago we started seeing large (3/8-1/2") red ants more and more, to the point where the ground was moving and we couldn't be up there any more,...
D H
This was recommended to us by a friend.! It is a lifesaver with fire ants. We all know how difficult it is to get rid of those critters. We have had stubborn ant beds and this stuff really gets rid of them. I highly recommend it!
Joellen Chapman
This stuff it great. Just a tiny sprinkle is all you need!! It smells but not as bad as some are saying. Ants have just about taken over my lawn. Well, this stuff is going to KILL THEM ALL!
Mamma's Brahmas 2.0
I swear by this!! It’s gonna kill what you need it to kill except spiders unless you dilute some with water maybe. I used this for every house or apartment I had.
Briana
Works good on roaches and bed bugs as well
Arthur Gould
Martin's and Control Solutions
Surrender belongs to the Martin's line, the consumer side of Control Solutions, Inc. Martin's covers pest, lawn, garden, farm and ranch products, built on professional-grade formulations sold in sizes a homeowner can actually use.
Control Solutions works out of Pasadena, Texas, and operates CSI Pest, Quali-Pro and CSI Production Animal alongside Martin's, reaching consumer pest control, professional pest management, turf and production-animal markets. The company is part of the ADAMA group.
Surrender and Martin's Surrender Fire Ant Killer Insecticide have been alternate brand names for the registered Acephate 75 SP formulation since 2011. It is still made at 75% acephate in a 1 lb can that covers up to 108 mounds.
State pesticide registration decides where Surrender can legally be sold and used, so availability and shipping eligibility differ from one state to the next. Check both before ordering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Surrender Fire Ant Killer is a concentrated insecticide for direct treatment of active fire ant mounds. The current formula contains 75% acephate and comes as a dry powder in a 1 lb container. Instead of spreading it across the entire lawn, apply a measured amount directly over each mound according to the product label.
Apply 1 to 2 teaspoons evenly over each mound. The label does not recommend increasing the dose for larger-looking mounds, and the same mound should not be treated more than once per season. Always use the measuring rate and application directions printed on the current label.
One 1 lb container can treat up to 108 fire ant mounds. Actual coverage depends on the amount used for each treatment, since the labeled application rate is 1 to 2 teaspoons per mound.
No. Surrender Fire Ant Killer is applied as a dry powder and does not require dilution, a pump sprayer, or a prepared mound drench. Measure the required amount and distribute it evenly over the mound as directed on the label.
Early morning and late afternoon are generally the preferred treatment periods because fire ants are more likely to be active closer to the surface. Applications during prolonged hot, dry weather can be less effective when ants move deeper underground.
Surrender is primarily sold for fire ant control. The turfgrass label also includes harvester ants, subject to state-specific restrictions. Some non-crop uses include other ants, but the label excludes certain species such as carpenter ants and pharaoh ants. Check the labeled pest and use site before applying the product.
Labeled use sites include residential, recreational, and commercial turfgrass. The label also contains directions for certain non-crop areas such as fencerows, roadsides, field borders, ditch banks, and borrow pits. It should not be applied to sites that are not permitted by the product label.
No. Surrender Fire Ant Killer is a direct mound treatment containing 75% acephate. It should not be confused with the discontinued Surrender Fire Ant Bait, which used different active ingredients and was designed for foraging ants to collect and carry into the colony.
Surrender Fire Ant Killer contains 75% acephate. Acephate is an organophosphate insecticide classified in IRAC Group 1B. It works by disrupting normal nerve function in susceptible insects.
Acephate formulations can have a pronounced sulfur-like odor. The Surrender safety data sheet describes the odor as similar to rotten cabbage. This is a normal characteristic of the product and does not by itself mean that the insecticide has spoiled.
Surrender is a pesticide and should be handled strictly according to its label. Keep children and pets away during application and do not allow people into treated non-agricultural areas until the dust has settled. The label also specifies protective clothing and chemical-resistant gloves for handlers.
Turf injury is possible and is specifically noted on the product label. This is worth considering before treating highly visible or sensitive turf. Use only the labeled amount and avoid applying more product than necessary.
No. Pesticide registration and sale requirements vary by state, so Surrender may not be registered or available for shipment everywhere. Retailer shipping restrictions can also differ. Check current state registration and delivery eligibility before ordering.
Surrender is part of the Martin’s product line from Control Solutions, Inc., a pesticide and specialty chemical company based in Pasadena, Texas. Control Solutions also operates product lines serving professional pest management, turf and ornamental markets, and production-animal applications.
Keep Surrender in its original labeled container in a cool, dry location away from food and feed. Close the container securely after use and keep it out of reach of children. Do not transfer the powder into food, beverage, or other unlabeled containers, and follow the disposal instructions on the product label when the container is empty.
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Visit websiteTreat the Mound, Not the Whole Lawn
Keep a can on hand through fire ant season and treat each mound when the ants are working near the surface. One measured dose, one time, per mound.
Shop Surrender® Fire Ant Killer