Not sure if this belonged in Predators and Pests, mods please move if needed..
I'm up so early because of this paranoia of mine... Fire ants with my broody mama. Two days ago I saw 3 or 4 fire ants outside of her nestbox and about 2 in her nestbox. I freaked out and quickly did action about it. First I took eggs out, mama out, the shavings out, and the layer of carpet out. Mama was pecking at the eggs when I set them outside so I had to hold on to them because she wasn't being gentle. Anyways what I did was quick : (note I removed water and food) I sprayed down the whole nestbox with sevin spray. Sprayed a bit outside, on the wood fence, on the chicken wire, and in the empty feeder. All away from mama and her eggs. (at this time I noticed the ants slowing down and dying) Once that dried I sprinkled a generous amount of food grade DE, even though there was alot of DE already there... I put it outside and in the nestbox. Then I put the carpet, sprinkled DE, new shavings, sprinkled DE, and put mama and her eggs back in.
Thank goodness she's still sitting on them. Now the eggs are due to hatch this coming Sunday!! I'm really worried even though I sprayed Sevin around that the ants are going to come back when the chicks start pipping and hatching.
What do you guys think? Should I spray again? I won't spray as much, maybe just on the outside so the ants can't(?) enter. I hope that I've done enough and the ants won't come back... I checked today and no ants.. Good yes but I suspect that the ants will smell the fluids from the hatchlings and march right on in no matter what I put down. I don't want my grandchildren dying a slow and horrible death.
Thank you for any reply!
