Soil adsorption is the key factor of reducing the efficacy of pesticides against soil pest insects.Control of the red imported fire ants with surfactant-enhanced remediation (SER) was investigated and effects of two surfactants SBDS and Triton X-100 on desorption of contact insecticides (phoxim) was tested in the soil system with a batch equilibration technique.As the concentration of SDBS or Triton X-100 increased,the adsorption rates of phoxim decreased.At 5 folds of critical micell concentration (CMC),the adsorption rates of phoxim at the test initial concentrations treated with SDBS ranged from 56.81% to 66.21%,which were obviously lower than those (75.92%-82.07%) of Triton X-100 treatment,indicating that desorption of SDBS to phoxim in soil was higher than that of Triton X-100.The adsorption of phoxim in soil was conformed to Freundlich’s isothermal adsorption curve,which showed that the higher amount addition of surfactants decreased the Kaf value.These results might favor the application of phoxim for the control of the red imported fire ants.