Ants in chicken run

[desertchick3]

Hello! This probably isn’t a very good solution, but I used mint (the plant’s leaves) and put some on the area where the ants were . Next they, they were gone .they came back, but then I also added cucumber peels, and I never saw them again. There’s probably better solutions but that was what I had available XD

Thank you! I will try mint.

 

[desertchick3]

Pouring boiling water into the mound would probably help. It might, at least, convince the survivors to move their colony outside the run where you can use Amdro.

Thanks so much!

 

[Egg Blues]

I wouldn't mess around with fire ants--you can try borax (boric acid) but will probably need chemicals, like Amdro. You could either sprinkle it around outside where the birds don't get to it, or buy the bait stations. Or, make your own bait stations by drilling about a 3/8 hole in a small tupperware container.

Boric acid works on all insects....BUT...fire ants seem to figure it out. A friend of mine used boric acid on fire ants in his yard and found that they took the bait at first, but later came back bringing mud and buried the bait!

Boric acid is a natural compound and is non-toxic to vertebrates. It's not poisonous to chickens, even if they eat it. It's a bit like iodine--most soils are deficient in both iodine and boron, and boric acid can actually help plants who need it as a trace mineral.

The challenge with fire ants is getting them to take the bait. My suggestion would be to dilute the boric acid more. For example, use only 10-15% of boric acid with the bait to help keep it below their levels of detection. Any amount will kill them eventually, it just might be a little slower. Perhaps the "slowly but surely wins the race" principle is applicable here.

 

[Alagirl]

sonewhere I read ti use instant grit on a dry day, feed them with abundance and then soak the soil.
The idea being that they take the grits, feed the mount and when they drink the grits expand and make them go poof.
Never tried it so I can't tell if it works

 

[Egg Blues]

sonewhere I read ti use instant grit on a dry day, feed them with abundance and then soak the soil.
The idea being that they take the grits, feed the mount and when they drink the grits expand and make them go poof.
Never tried it so I can't tell if it works

I've never tried such a thing either, but I have serious doubts it would work. It sounds like myth of the same caliber that persuaded many to abandon the rice christening at weddings and go with birdseed instead. The myth was that the rice would swell in the birds' stomachs and kill them--totally laughable ridiculousness (maybe some birdseed seller started it all). I can assure you that the rice farmers where I am would be more than pleased if such a myth were true. Instead, they have to use shotguns, scare crows, and large firecrackers to help preserve their harvest from the flocks of birds that are more than happy to rob them of it.