Fire ants in the coop

[tiffanyg2]

Yep and you can also try sprinkling instant grits around the nest they will eat that to~ luckily it may kill the colony sometimes it works~ sometimes it doesn't! Good luck~ I can't stand ants either!

 

[Giggles Chicks]

I have fire ants in the coop. They are walking up the ramp. Will seven dust in the bedding hurt my girls?

 

[Giggles Chicks]

You said yep the seven dust will or will not hurt my girls??

 

[Millworker26]

Quote:
I wonder, if the corn meal was made with Bt corn (corn genetically engineered to express the Bt insecticide) would the resulting cornmeal kill ants?

In other words can you both be right?

It's my understanding that a great deal of the corn we grow is either genetically engineered to be round-up resistant, express the Bt insecticide or both.

Chris

Oh man, that is a fascinating hypothesis. Bt (the bacteria) alone would not work due to the filtering process in the ants digestive system. BUT if the corn were engineered to produce the Cry protein, which is the part of Bt that does the killing, then in theory that could make it to the ants gut and kill it.

 

[kajira]

You said yep the seven dust will or will not hurt my girls??

I would not use sevin dust around animals. It's toxic to animals - or so my vet told me. They recommended Diatomaceous Earth, food grade. Not only is it edible by humans and animals (it kills parasites, so it's a natural dewormer) it also kills anything with an exoskeleton... making it perfect to use ON animals for killing fleas, ticks, ants and more.

I use it around here a lot, we had cutter ants, and fire ants and the DE works great.

 

[jgcalifornia]

FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth will work and do no harm.

 

[cfschick77]

I have used a LOT of DE and the ants are still doing quite well. They are in the dirt that is in the fenced, enclosed area for the chickens. They are still going strong and I'm afraid my hens will get respiratory disease if they are scratching around in the dirt with DE. Does anyone actually have medically backed information that will work and NOT hurt my hens?!

 

[jgcalifornia]

I am surprised to hear the DE has not been successful.
Normally a generous line of powder acts as a barrier as they do not cross over the DE.

Have you poured some directly into the ant colonies themselves?

I found this article that mentions an Excavation option if that is at all possible?
http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/hot_topics/sustainable_living/fire_ant_management.shtml

Excavation

Fire ant mounds can be dug up and removed. Apply baby powder or talcum to shovel handles and the inside of the bucket to keep ants from crawling up and escaping or stinging you.

Not knowing your set up its hard to know how it is layed out. Maybe there is some kind of rock wall or barrier you can make with some eatable herbs or plants along the fence line. Keeping that area moist to keep the ants away?

 

[cfschick77]

Thank you for responding. Yes, we are surprised the DE hasn't worked too! I mixed a LOT into their enclosure. I'd send a picture but I don't know how. The ants are in the dirt where we've mixed in DE but we can't find a mound anywhere. I'm wondering if they've just dug under the shed right next to the enclosure?

 

[jgcalifornia]

I'm wondering if trying the DE without mixing it into the dirt would make a difference. My feeling is it will.
Can you do a test?
See if you can observe the ants for a few minutes to follow their trail. Try applying a line of DE where you see them crossing if you can.