FIRE ANTS!!! How do you get rid of them around chickens?

[mcgillagorilla]

Its been raining a bit and now all these fire ant mounds are popping up where the chickens roam and inside coop area. I dont want to put down anything that will make the chickens sick and die. Never had a problem this bad before, what can be used to treat/kill ant colony and not hurt chickens. Diatomaceous earth does not seem to do much. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Ntsees]

That is the million dollar question for me. I've never actually found a way to get rid of those fire ants. I realized that no matter what, I'm always going to have ants around. If so, then I might as well have ants that don't bite. My problem was luckily solved this year by an increase of tiny black ants. These black ants pushed/competed out those fire ants. Never seen a single fire ant once this year and hope it stays this way next year and the next too. The difference is that these black ants don't bite like those fire ants so my birds are safe. Right now, I'm feeding another ant colony, a native grey field ant (Formica aerata), hoping that they and those other tiny black ants will keep those fire ants out.

 

[mickey328]

Thank goodness we don't have fire ants here! What awful things. I would recommend using some DE...on the chickens, in their coop and dust bathing areas. Also sprinkle a little around all the entrances to the ants' nests you can find. It does need to be dry to work, so you'd need to reapply after a rain. I doubt you can kill 'em all, but you should be able to keep them to a "reasonable" population.

Mickey

 

[ChickMagnet207]

Try sprinkling some corn meal around, they will eat it and it will swell up inside of them.

 

[mcgillagorilla]

Thank goodness we don't have fire ants here! What awful things. I would recommend using some DE...on the chickens, in their coop and dust bathing areas. Also sprinkle a little around all the entrances to the ants' nests you can find. It does need to be dry to work, so you'd need to reapply after a rain. I doubt you can kill 'em all, but you should be able to keep them to a "reasonable" population.

Mickey

Thanks....I guess the Diatamaceous earth will have to do for now and I think it should be drying out in the next day or two for hopefully a few days. These mounds are SOOOOOOOOO big -
I would put the fire ant killer on the mounds and put a bucket over it to keep the chickens out but my horses are in the same area and they think all buckets are toys for them to play with even if I put some sort of heavy boulder or something on it - my mare is persistent.

 

[mcgillagorilla]

Try sprinkling some corn meal around, they will eat it and it will swell up inside of them.

REALLY! Does it just slow the colony down or kill them, dont you have to get to the queen or something?

Does cornmeal do anything to the chickens?? Will they try to eat it.

 

[mcgillagorilla]

That is the million dollar question for me. I've never actually found a way to get rid of those fire ants. I realized that no matter what, I'm always going to have ants around. If so, then I might as well have ants that don't bite. My problem was luckily solved this year by an increase of tiny black ants. These black ants pushed/competed out those fire ants. Never seen a single fire ant once this year and hope it stays this way next year and the next too. The difference is that these black ants don't bite like those fire ants so my birds are safe. Right now, I'm feeding another ant colony, a native grey field ant (Formica aerata), hoping that they and those other tiny black ants will keep those fire ants out.

I need to go find some black ants!

 

[brahmakid11]

Try sprinkling some corn meal around, they will eat it and it will swell up inside of them.

i tryed that before

 

[flowerchic]

i tryed that before

Did it work, cause I could use that in my coop and garden area??

 

[ChickMagnet207]

A friend of mine says it works and wont bother your chickens