Fire Ants

[nnheacox]

We have SO MANY fire ants near our run and the chickens seems to love them. Are they going to hurt them? Like biting wise?

 

[Eggs_Over_EZ]

From our experience they do not. We have seen them eating the ants. Someone may another experience.

 

[Brooks_]

I've not had any bad issues with the ants and the chickens.

 

[alwaystj9]

A friend told me of her chickens getting sort of drunk from eating large numbers of fire ants. I have never seen mine eat them but I also never have fire ant mounds inside my run so I guess the chickens do eat them or discourage them in some way. The chickens (about 28 of them) do not show any interest in the fire ants in the pastures.

 

[akroberts1085]

I read an article that states that if you pour vinegar in the mound of the fire ants they will die due to the fact that they can't find food.

 

[nnheacox]

I read an article that states that if you pour vinegar in the mound of the fire ants they will die due to the fact that they can't find food.

Good to know! We have so many ants this year. From the little tiny black ones to the huge bull ants and fire ants. I’m sick of them

 

[akroberts1085]

Good to know! We have so many ants this year. From the little tiny black ones to the huge bull ants and fire ants. I’m sick of them

I have been dealing with a large number of ants also. I have found them in my potted plants, garden and all over the yard. I'm going to try the vinegar down the hole but for the garden and pots I will use grits. I know people think I'm crazy but they work for me. My oldest daughter had been living with my husband and I and when she moved out the grandkids had left some candy in the room so I bought a box of grits and sprinkled them on the floor. The next day I swept up the left over grits. The grits cannot get wet but after the ants eat them they have to get water and the grits swell up and ants can't pass gas so they explode.

 

[skeeeter]

Hi, if you plan on hatching chicks, you need to get rid of the ants. They will invade the nest on hatch night and eat your pipped chicks alive. Its very ugly and upsetting.

 

[nnheacox]

Hi, if you plan on hatching chicks, you need to get rid of the ants. They will invade the nest on hatch night and eat your pipped chicks alive. Its very ugly and upsetting.

Oh gosh We aren’t that far in yet, but that’s good to know. This is our first flock and they’re all about 10ish weeks old at this point.

 

[alwaystj9]

From the USDA:​

Home Remedies 101​

Home remedies are commonly suggested as a way to control in place of many fire ant control products on the market. Home remedies are not necessarily safer choices than pesticide products. Gasoline, diesel oil, chlorine bleach, ammonia, drain cleaners and acids are dangerous to anyone who may come in contact with them AND illegal to use. Runoffs from these products can contaminate water sources that are near your home, children, pets and livestock.


Myth: Club soda will control fire ants.
Fact: Fire ant control using club soda was recently tested and found to be ineffective.
The club soda remedy is appealing because of its availability and environmental safety, but it has been disproven in many university trials. Carbon dioxide is known to be lethal to many organisms, but the quantity of carbon dioxide generated by a bottle of club soda is not enough to fill a colony that may extend 12 feet under ground.


Myth: Pouring uncooked grits on fire ant mounds will kill them.
Fact: Grits are proven to have no effect.
Research has indicated that using dried grits does not control fire ants. In theory, the ants will eat grits, which will swell in their stomachs and cause them to explode. However, fire ant workers cannot eat solid food! The only members of the fire ant family that digest solid food are the oldest larvae, who feed the rest of the colony in liquid form.


Half-myth: Pouring boiling water on fire ant mounds will kill the colony.
Fact: Pouring boiling water will kill the colony if the correct amount of water is used.
Pouring boiling water on a fire ant colony is an old home remedy that has some truth to it. Researchers estimate it is about 60 percent effective when approximately three gallons of water are used. Although there is truth to this home remedy, it is VERY dangerous to the applicator and will kill the surrounding vegetation.


Myth: If you mix fire ant colonies they will kill each other.
Fact: Workers may die, but not the entire colony.
Fire ant mixing is a common suggestion for killing fire ant colonies. When mixing colonies, there is potential for workers to be killed, but little chance that the queens will die. In order to kill a fire ant colony, the laying queens must be killed. Generally, disturbed colonies just move to a different location.


Myth: Baking soda, vinegar, molasses, plaster of Paris and aspartame will kill fire ant colonies.
Fact: These have all been tested and found ineffective.
All of these popular home remedies have been thoroughly tested and proven to have no effect on fire ant colonies.

I copied the above from the Ag Extension paper on Ant Pests.

I can honestly say that in 35 years on the same farm in South Louisiana, nothing works on my fire ants except poison. Many home methods can kill some, many management methods can keep them on the move but with multiple queens, tunnels that may go 10 feet deep and the ability to form "Super Colonies", it's just a constant fight. Regular mowing, bush hogging and disturbing nests does get them to relocate. I have to plan ahead and poke around the garden area I plan to work in, jab a stick in and dump some orthene on the nest and leave it alone for a few days.
Good luck andif you find a new solution, let me know!