Fire ants count as pests to me.

[davemonkey]

Can't wait to read how the sugar trial turns out.

LOL @ chickengeorgeto!!

 

[LoneOak]

If sugar were to really work then we would all know about it and we would have no problems with fire ants. You are probably only chasing them to your neighbor and then your going to tell your neighbor how you got rid of all your ants and he's going to use some sugar and chase them back to your house. Its a never ending cycle until you kill them and I would just about bet my checking account that sugar doesn't kill them.

 

[Angelicisi]

I use eucalyptus branches for fleas. Small fresh branches with leaves laid in corner of dog house, one under each bed and under the couch. Outside dog had them and used to bring them in when she comes in. Haven't had a problem since.

I wonder what the molasses mix would do to fleas. People over in the Texas thread have been complaining that they are overrun with them!

 

[Angelicisi]

I poisoned in the past before I lived here, before kids and animals were a concern. Tried it all! Even brought in a pest control team. Kept them at bay as long as the poison was applied. One season of not doing it and they came back.
Technically you can't kill them all off. A portion always moves (usually the one deepest get away from warning scents sent by the dying above) but I have no neighbor to worry about lol acres and acres for them to move too, wish I could chase them out in a straight line :/ I don't mind them moving lol I wouldn't mind if they all packed up and moved to the property edge, it'd be like a moat!...of fire! (ants) Mwahahaha!

Really tho, they can move just a bit farther would be great. Without having to worry about the kids/animals or if I can eat my veggies & herbs right from the garden when working, never know until you try! I need to check on my piles and find that molasses...

If sugar were to really work then we would all know about it and we would have no problems with fire ants.  You are probably only chasing them to your neighbor and then your going to tell your neighbor how you got rid of all your ants and he's going to use some sugar and chase them back to your house.  Its a never ending cycle until you kill them and I would just about bet my checking account that sugar doesn't kill them.

 

[junecleavage]

Do ants get diabetes?

 

[Angelicisi]

Bahahahaha I hope so

 

[Angelicisi]

Ok so upon inspection (poking with stick and then a shovel lol) they moved out of the big garden over the wood to about 2 ft out in the grass. So they don't like it. The molasses works better, they leave farther lol. Going to try a molasses soak on the coop area. They have moved in recently and poison is not an option for this area :/

I have a foundation of river silt, absorbs and drains great so maybe a good soak will drive them out of that area for good. Lol can't knock it till I've tried it.

So plain white sugar trial #1. They moved by day 3. Not far nut I only sprinkled the mound. Next sugar trial ill coat the area around to...

 

[Angelicisi]

On another note, I tried to flood them outta the garden before...they made a raft! Out of the soldier ants and all climbed on and floated around til they hit dirt again! Evil creatures...

 

[chickengeorgeto]

http://msucares.com/insects/fireants/facts.html

Above are a few facts about fire ants and why most homemade cures or urban legends on how to control either red imported or black imported fire ant colonies just don't work, and never will.

First forget that ditty about fire ants eating corn grits and swelling up till they explode. The vision of exploding fire ants may be appealing to the home owned but it is totally bogus.
Adult fire ants are incapable of eating solid food. All the food fire ants gather is first fed to their larva. The larva digest it and regurgitated part of it. This predigested liquid food is then passed around the colony by the adult worker ants for all to enjoy. If you are intent on destroying a red imported fire ant colony by chemical means, you had best start with the larva because besides being the future of the colony, the fire ant larva are the colonies' meal ticket in the here and now.

Fire ants are swift to move the visible mound if anything out of the ordinary happens to it like a soaking with hot water or other benign liquids, or if you run over it with a mower etc. The problem is that you may drive the mound right up against or into the foundation of your house and then you'll have a house or bed full of fire ants to either learn to live with or control at short range.

The thicker the grass or other ground cover the fewer new fire ant hills you'll have. The thinner the lawn cover the more likely the next new fire ant queen to alight on your property will find a good location to start a colony. Most fire ant colonies are 50 feet in diameter or less. However some fire ant colonies are 200 feet in diameter. The reason for this is because fire ants are imperialistic and if strong enough they will absorb surrounding colonies creating fire ant empires with multiple queens. If you only kill one or even a few of the queens in such a colony you're just spitting in the wind.

 

[TeaChick]

I poisoned in the past before I lived here, before kids and animals were a concern. Tried it all! Even brought in a pest control team. Kept them at bay as long as the poison was applied. One season of not doing it and they came back.
Technically you can't kill them all off. A portion always moves (usually the one deepest get away from warning scents sent by the dying above) but I have no neighbor to worry about lol acres and acres for them to move too, wish I could chase them out in a straight line

I don't mind them moving lol I wouldn't mind if they all packed up and moved to the property edge, it'd be like a moat!...of fire! (ants) Mwahahaha!

Really tho, they can move

just a bit farther would be great. Without having to worry about the kids/animals or if I can eat my veggies & herbs right from the garden when working, never know until you try! I need to check on my piles and find that molasses...

This is how we feel. We don't like having to chase them around the yard. I'll post the recipe with the cornmeal in it. It works to get rid of the ants; I just couldn't keep my chickens out of it.
We've used two different spot treatments (poisons) and without the cornmeal (and jello, etc.) the poison only does just chase them around the yard. The cornmeal mixture does have poison in it, but it's a very small amount and it does kill the nest (with the other ingredients, they never know what hit them!!!) Anyway, I've got to find it, but I'll edit it into my original post (I think I can do that, right? IDK, but I'll post it anyway.
Oh, I quoted Angelicisi to say that I agree, all we aim to do is chase them out of the yard. We realize where we live and that there is no such thing as irradicating them completely; however, there is plenty of property between my yard and my neighbor's yard where they can keep their happy behinds!!!