Any Suggestions for a Good Ant Killer

[DevineChickens]

I am having a heck of a time controlling the ants that steal my chickens' feed. I know it is only one grain at a time, but here are hundreds of them! I think I am feeding the ants more than I am feeding my chickens! I have tried a couple of ant baits and poisons, and they seem to work for a day or so, but then they come back with a vengence. They are not fire ants, but they are red. I have always called them cutter ants, as they are the same ones that can strip a bush or small tree of its leaves in a couple of days, but I don't know the correct name.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks all.

 

[ChicKat]

Hi Devine,

I would suggest DE, it will not harm your chickens. Sometimes when the ants are thick, I powder down the food, or the forage cake or what-ever with DE.

If you have leaf cutter ants, you may try soil sulpher around the entrance to their tunnel. It will take following one/some back. They use vegetation to grow -- fungus. If their little ant feet walk through the sulpher, it will kill the fungus. (I have been successful with this to have them relocate their entrance---it depends upon how larger their underground kingdom extends, I'm sure.)

It is so funny to see an ant carrying a whole sunflower seed, or the other day I saw one by our garage carrying a kernal of deer corn. (like the corn is moving independently)-- It's that time of year for the grasshopper and the ant thing.

Soil mender is one brand-name available in garden stores around here for DE in an 'EZ squeeze tube'.

Hate those ants!

 

[southerndesert]

We set up little bait stations outside the pens that the chickens can not get into and use AMDRO they take it home and it kills the whole colony in a day or two. Been using it for many years and never a problem, one day hundreds of ants, next day none.....

It can be purchased at any Home Depot etc. AMDRO

 

[DevineChickens]

Thanks, Southerndesert and Chickat. I appreciate the advice. I wish I could get a hold of a nuclear device of some kind. I think that might just do it.

 

[southerndesert]

AMDRO is pretty close to a nuke device..... Works better than any product I have ever tried.

 

[RedDrgn]

Boric acid (also known as Borax)...sprinkle lines of it around the area they keep invading. Always did the trick when ants would invade our hummingbird feeders....it does wash away if rained on, though.

 

[DevineChickens]

Thanks, RedDrgn. I've used boric acid for roaches before, but I did not know it would work with ants too.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Mix it with some Karo Syrup or Molasses and they will take it back and feed it to the Queen

 

[zzGypsy]

we've used Amdro successfully on large ants, fire ants especially. we had literally *hundreds* of colonies and this stuff works... just have to put it down while it's dry because they won't eat it if its damp. and you do NOT want to put it down where your birds can get to it... i'm sure it would look quite tasty to chickens but don't imagine it would do them any good...

for the little black and/or red ants, there's a liquid bait that come in little flat clear dispenser packs... can't remember the name... that works very well. it is also available in a larger serving - comes in a flat green dispenser about the diameter of a coke can but only 1/2" tall. the box is orange... we're out, so I can't check, but we got it at home depot.

 

[RedDrgn]

Quote:
Yep, it will work for ants and most insects that decide to try wading through it or eating it. You can also add the syrup like Bear Foot suggested, though I would only do that if you're applying it outside and on surfaces that won't get permanently gunked up/stained.