DE isn't killing my ants!!

[harryg6167]

For the ants you can try comet (the toilet bowl cleaner). Has to be the come brand powder though. Sprinkle it real goo around the ant hill. Then sprinkle it all over the ant hill. Stir up the ant hill and sprinkle it again. Somebody else told us of this and we trie it on a few small antbeds we had in the yard here and it took care of then. Have also stirred up ant hills after cooking and poured the hot oil all over it and that took care of them.
Don't know if you would want to use the comet solution if you have other pets running around. We did but our dogs and cats did not bother it so I do not know how it would affect them if they got into it?

 

[ivan3]

Crystalline DE (used for pool filters, etc.) kills insects by cutting them up. Boric acid (borax) both slashes exoskeletons and, if swallowed, short circuits the bug's metabolism (slowly, imho)

Amorphous DE (Food Grade Codex), safe around chooks, kills by desiccation, it mummifies the bug. However, the effectiveness is apparently dependent on the thickness of the cuticle (exoskeleton), the surface area of the bug, and the relative humidity of the environment in which it is used (drier the better).

Food Grade DE prevents Carpenter ants from chewing through wood painted with a slurry of (food grade) DE and allowed to dry, but Yellow Jackets just push it out of the way when we dump the powder into the entrance of their nest.

We used to swear by TERRO brand ant poison (we are in the woods and colonies want to move into house en masse). We'd put out several drops and within two days - no more ants.
We ran out of our old TERRO cache and bought more last year (didn't read label). We couldn't understand why the ants weren't being rubbed out. The formulation was changed: Used to be Sodium Arsenate (arsenic), it was replaced by Boric acid.

I'll second the poster who uses boiling water (works on Yellow Jackets, too). If you have ants in a location that animals/kids can't get to and want something that removes them quick arsenic is very good - and very bad.

 

[RuffTuffCreampuff]

I use grits! Just sprinkle some on top of their hill, they take it down into the nest and to store as food.....they die when they eat it, and it swells in their bodies. They'll feed it to the queen too.

Pam

 

[joanie_maine]

Quote:
Now I know why I don't eat grits

Just Kidding

 

[mener6896]

yes it did rain!! Maybe that's why it didn't kill the ants! I don't want to use any poison/pesticide because it's where my chicks free range. Also I have lots in my garden. I'll keep trying the DE as long as it's dry!

Thanks

 

[LynneP]

Food-grade DE works slowly and takes 12 hours to dessicate insects. Sometimes it works in conjunction as a preventive or when mixed with Sevin or Dri-Kill. If you wish to kill the ants you need to research the species. Some can be baited with borax and sugar (must be kept away from chickens and pets) and others require water dousing (fire ants) in addition to insecticides. Ants are a complex topic.

 

[Sillystunt]

Quote:
I was gonnasay the same thing! And it's safe around your chickens! I had a 89 year old southern belle tell me they have used grits since she was a kid! Must work.....my dad tried it and said it did the job!

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Remember folks that some black ants eat flea eggs.

 

[TammyTX]

Boric acid will kill plants.