Amdro is a trade name for a hydramethylnon

Hydramethylnon

Hydramethylnon is an organic chemical compound. It is also known as AC 217,300. It is in a chemical class called trifluoromethyl aminohydrazone, which is a metabolic inhibitor. It is used primarily as an insecticide in the form of baits for cockroaches and ants...

-based hydrazone

Hydrazone

Hydrazones are a class of organic compounds with the structure R1R2C=NNH2. They are related to ketones and aldehydes by the replacement of the oxygen with the NNH2 functional group...

 insecticide

Insecticide

An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...

, commonly used in the southern United States for fire ant

Fire ant

Fire ants are a variety of stinging ants with over 285 species worldwide. They have several common names, including ginger ants, tropical fire ants and red ants.- Appearance :...

 control. Amdro was patented in 1978 by the American Cyanamid

American Cyanamid

American Cyanamid was a large, diversified, American chemical manufacturer, founded by Frank Washburn in 1907. It was the only United States firm manufacturing the polio vaccine of the Sabin type....

 company, now Ambrands, and was conditionally approved for use by the United States Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

 in August, 1980. It is a delayed-toxicity food chain killer, in which soldier ants carry the bait into the mound and feed it to the queen

Eusociality

Eusociality is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification....

, killing her and decimating the mound. Amdro uses a corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 grit and soybean oil

Soybean oil

Soybean oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean . It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils. As a drying oil, processed soybean oil is also used as a base for printing inks and oil paints...

base, and must be used within three months after opening to be effective. Amdro has several drawbacks: (1) when it rains, or the bait is moisturized, Amdro loses its effectiveness entirely; (2) insecticide baits tend to be slow working, and take up to a month to be effective; and (3) Amdro cannot be used on food crops.