Fire Ants - Using Molasses To Drive Out Colonies

[WaxiChickens]

Hi All,

In the past, I have sprayed molasses on my lawn to drive out fire ants. It seemed to work.

Has Anyone used this method inside coops and runs? Could this be dangerous to the chickens?

 

[theoldchick]

Around here the ants love molasses and will arrive in hoards to get all they can. I wouldn't try it.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm wondering how molasses works to repel fire ants when if never seen ants pass up anything sugary. I don't think it will hurt the chickens but it just sounds odd.

 

[Painted Calls]

 

[WaxiChickens]

I’m not sure what it does. I heard about from some West Texas Farmers. I used it on my lawn when I lived in a neighborhood and saw no ants but saw plenty on the neighbors lawn.

I may run a test in an area away from the chickens and see what happens.

I’ll post the results if there are any.

 

[Painted Calls]

I would automatically assume anything sweet would attract them by the thousands.

 

[Knellie]

I live in Southwest Louisiana, where fire ants are a constant battle. The molasses repellant works for me - I smear it full strength on shovel handle, dig up the mound, and dispose of mound in various ways.

Also heard that spraying dilute molasses / water mix on fruit trees and bushes will discourage fire ants so tried it. The fire ants left all areas within the drip line, but it takes a couple of weeks while trees systemically absorb the molasses. If you have other species of ants roaming around, they could be attracted to the molasses, so be sure you know it’s really fire ants that you’re dealing with. Once bitten by a fire ant, you’ll never confuse it with another species again!

Another organic fire/ant remedy is to use orange oil (I use Medina brand). Two ounces per gal of water, pour about half around mound perimeter and then dump the rest right on top. Average mound is dead within twenty minutes but huge mounds will need more than one gallon. This does normally kill the queen though occasionally she survives and moves or regenerates mound. Safe and relatively inexpensive way to control fire ants.

 

[cmom]

I used permethrin. I don't know if they moved but whatever they are gone.

 

[theoldchick]

https://gardenprofessors.com/molasses-malarkey/ https://gardenprofessors.com/the-end-hopefully-of-molasses-malarkey/

 

[Knellie]

Just tellin’ ya what I have done and observed. Total cost to me was under twenty bucks. No taxpayer funding involved.