fire ants

[BantamBonzo]

Went to check my hens after last nights storm and I think there is a fire ant nest under their brood house. How do I get rid of it without hurting my hens or their eggs?

 

[Goosegrrl]

I live in a rural area of central Florida, fire ants are absolutely endemic here. The only really reliable method that I have found for killing out mounds has been to use the fire ant BAIT(Amdro is my personal choice) that they carry down into the mound to feed the queen. As I live in a good sized property broadcast spreading the standard poisons would A.) take too long, B.) cover a lot of area not affected, C.) cost more money, and D.) kill a lot of bugs other than ants that are good fodder for birds and other critters. Especially once the problem is under control and I only have to hit a few mounds that encroach, and walk the perimeter every couple of months to make sure they aren't spreading in from beyond my fences.

When I bait hills away from the coop/run area I simply keep the flock up for a couple of days then recheck the hills for continued activity. If there is activity I use a rake to scratch under any remaining bait and level the hill. I allow the flock out for a few days to forage, and repeat if the hill remains active or attempts to rebuild.
If a mound pops up in or at the edge of my coop/run I treat the same except I stake a 1/4in hardware cloth cage over the top of the baited area and leave it until the hill is dead, then scrape away any bait that is visible.
Never lost a bird to ingestion of the bait.

As much as my flock loves soft fluffy sand to play in, they avoid fire ant mounds completely.

Other methods I have tried, and I tried a lot, have not killed off the entire mound. It always came back.

 

[birdwrangler057]

Pour gasoline on them, it works every time. Plus, it's a liquid so it will soak into the ground, bringing no harm to your birds.

 

[azygous]

Pour gasoline on them, it works every time. Plus, it's a liquid so it will soak into the ground, bringing no harm to your birds.

Oh, for heaven's sake, please do not pour gasoline on the soil anywhere! It's not only very dangerous and extremely polluting, but the benzene in gas will contaminate the soil and act as a neurotoxin should any chicken gobble any of that soil as they select grit for their gizzard. It will kill chickens.

If you need to get rid of fire ants, use an approved treatment that is safe to use around chickens such as permethrin dust or Elector PSP.

 

[birdwrangler057]

Oh, for heaven's sake, please do not pour gasoline on the soil anywhere! It's not only very dangerous and extremely polluting, but the benzene in gas will contaminate the soil and act as a neurotoxin should any chicken gobble any of that soil as they select grit for their gizzard. It will kill chickens.

If you need to get rid of fire ants, use an approved treatment that is safe to use around chickens such as permethrin dust or Elector PSP.

First off, the pollution thing is bogus, gas comes from the ground, and yes, I agree on the gizzard grit part, I totally side stepped it. All you have to do is lock the birds out for a day, then hose the gas down once it's done it's job.

 

[birdwrangler057]

Oh, for heaven's sake, please do not pour gasoline on the soil anywhere! It's not only very dangerous and extremely polluting, but the benzene in gas will contaminate the soil and act as a neurotoxin should any chicken gobble any of that soil as they select grit for their gizzard. It will kill chickens.

If you need to get rid of fire ants, use an approved treatment that is safe to use around chickens such as permethrin dust or Elector PSP.

It takes a lot of gas to pollut anything, one cup of it isn't going to hurt the "environment."

 

[birdwrangler057]

It takes a lot of gas to pollut anything, one cup of it isn't going to hurt the "environment."

Ask my dad, he's a certified merchant marine.

 

[azygous]

It takes a lot of gas to pollut anything, one cup of it isn't going to hurt the "environment."

All it takes is one benzene contaminated pebble to kill a chicken that swallows it. Want to take that chance?

 

[N F C]

Before moving to WY this spring, we lived in FL where fire ants are a real problem. I was fortunate enough to not have them right under the coop but did have them in the yard. DH used to boil a huge pot of soapy Dawn water and pour it directly on the mound.

Not sure if that's the "approved" method but it seemed to work for us.

 

[birdwrangler057]

All it takes is one benzene contaminated pebble to kill a chicken that swallows it. Want to take that chance?

That's why I said to lock the birds out, let the gas do its thing, then, hose it down with water to delude it.