Ant bites?

[Celie]

A few weeks ago, the ants were out of control around, because it was raining every day for a while. I have Turkeys, ducks, chickens and geese roaming our 5 acres. I could not work in the garden without getting bit by ants and I noticed the flocks pecking at them and then rubbing their beaks on the ground, but I could not persuade them to leave the ant hills alone. The turkeys started to get sore around their heads, which I thought were from the ant bites, but a couple of the younger turkeys got bit near the eyes and one got some firm white substance that formed in the eye socket that made the eye swell up. I washed the eye with sterile water and put antibiotic ointment in the eye. The white stuff is gone and it is now blind in that eye. I also fond one small chick with the same problem. The ducks and geese were not affected. I thought it was the ants, but now I am reading in BYC about fowl pocks and am wondering if it could be something else. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks, Celie

 

[ivan3]

I'm assuming Fire Ants, yes? If so, could definitely see formic acid blinding birds. If you could post up some shots it would be helpful.

Many shots of Pox for comparison were in - and in links provided - this recent thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704912/wild-turkey-with-a-strange-disease-has-anyone-seen-this

An older thread with some useful tactics for suppressing Fire Ants: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/226879/help-fire-ants-killed-one-of-my-chicks

 

[Celie]

I really don't know what kind of ants they were, but they were very tiny and to me looked both black and red. They did not make much of a nest in my vegetable garden, where the beds are raise about 6 inches and the weeds had gotten away from me this summer and are in need of a good weeding. It looked like the ants were eating the plants, and not really in hills. In the fields, they made large mounds and were almost impossible to get rid of, until my husband got some livestock safe insect killer at our local feed store and applied it several times to the hills. I think itwas called Permethn. I would not let him use it in the garden, since I have not used any chemicals or chemical fertilizers in over 35 years, on anything we would eat. I will have to deal with them in the garden, before it is time to plant the fall garden, in Octber. These ant bites felt more like a sting rather than a bite and got infected, on my arms where they bit me, but I wash my hands so often during the day, that they just itched a lot. I use baking soda and vinegar to unclog the plumbing drains in the house, but I never thought of using it on ant hills. I was thinking of boiling water or DE in the veggie garden and orchard? I had ducks and geese in the garden, grazing on the weeds, but they did not seem to get bit, except for two ducks that got a swollen foot and I did not know, at the time, about the ants, so I thought it was a stone bruise or that they had steped on a bee. I lanced the foot with a needle and drew out several cc's of bloody fluid, after that, I injected the foot with a general antibiotic and they were fine in a couple of days. If they come back on the fields, I thought about burning them out with a propane torch! My husband called them "piss ants". That is what people around here call these little tiny ants that make blisters when they "bite" you, but I am sure that is not the correct name for them. I appreciate all the great info and if you think of anything Else to use in an organic veggie garden, please let me know. Thanks again and God Bless,
Celie

 

[PekinBantam]

The physical description fits the sugar/pavement ant, but I'm not sure if their bite fits the description of the one you have. You say that you don't want to use chemicals in your garden but if the ants live in the field, why don't you just spray the mound? If you don't want to use chemicals at all, an alternate solution may be to flood the mound with boiled water.

 

[Celie]

I will probably try to boil out the ants in the veggie garden, which is 60X100 feet, including paths and raised beds and the area I was going to use for grapes, but since the rain soaked the ground so much with Isaah, there are only a few hils left. As soon as the ground dries up some, I will try the boiling water on any that are left there, too. The ground was so wet, a few of my first year fruit trees were blown over(not enough roots yet) and they make up mostof myfront lawn. In the coutry, with birds, Idon't have many floweri plants, so we just usedthe front acre for stone fruit and berries. Got some really good pears and peaches this summer! Yum.
Thanks for the infomation, I will certainly take your advise. Turkeys are all healed up and you ca't te they were ever bitten, but as for me. Looks like my husband dropped a cookie inthe feed shed (He loves his cookies) and will have to spray before we get more feed or hay. Too much to do, too little time. Very soon it will be time to plant fall garden.
hanks you and God Bless you for your advise,
Celie

 

[KrisH]

we use Diatomaceous earth (Food grade) in the pasture on the fire ant mounds. scrape off the top of the nest and sprinkle on the DE out to about 2 feet from the edge of the mound using a flower sifter. a 20# bag at tractor supply is about $13 aroun here. It may take more than one treatment, but it is NOT an insecticide. HAS to be used in dry weather to be effective. the hotter and drier the better. Don't treat the whole garden or field, just spot treat.

RobertH