Fire Ants

[jbowyer01]

If a mound gets to close to my coop I'll pour warmed vinegar over it. It really doesnt kill them persay but they move the mound and then I can try to treat it differently. I have to deal with them all the time even during the winter we'll find them though they arent as active.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

whattheheck

You must be from the South in a humid climate. Lucky you.

I can recall in my lifetime when there were no Fire Ants in Texas. Back then it was the Red Ants I hated! When I was a child was stung several times on my foot while playing dressup in some high heels...dang things got me good...foot was swollen for some time so I could not wear my regular shoes!

Back before I became aware of what we were doing to our poor Earth, I never thought twice about using gasoline to kill weeds or insect/pest...but now that I'm older I realize what a mess man has made of things. My goal now is to leave my lil piece of land better than I found it...so far, so good. I compost everything I get my hands on (one reason for the chicks and bunnies), collect and use rainwater and send as much as I can to be recycled (our town has no recycling so it has to go to city 40 miles away). I'm on FreeCycle where folks take other peoples 'throw aways' and put them to good use and keep them out of the landfill. Our environmental footprint has definitely gotten smaller. Too bad it took me so long to "Go Green" but thank God I finally woke up and took responsibility for my actions.

Opps, too early in the day for a soapbox post! Sorry.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

A.T. Hagan :

Well....

http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/gifts/friends/insects/red-ant-stuffed-f1800.jpg
http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Online Store/large images/microbe redant.jpg

.....Alan {laughing}

Alan

That looks like a great chew toy for my Toy Fox Terrier....she hates Fire Ants, too.

 

[Biochick]

I agree with Koolduck, get Amdro it works. My border collie would just love to pull the stuffing out of that ant.

 

[fastpat]

Several of my dogs are members of the "Fiberfill Liberation Army", stuffed toys don't last long here, particularly the ones with squeakers in them.

I think Ortho has a relatively new Fire Ant poison, the drawback to it is you have to either apply it just before it rains or water it in. It whacks them pretty hard, but it does have a very strong odor when using it. It's specifically for treating fire ant mounds.

I've used Amdro, it worked for a while, then stopped working.

Aother issue with Amdro and like granulated poisons is that they sit around and the chickens are likely to eat that if they spot it. Since it's readily visible on the mounds, they will see it.

The Ortho Mound Treatment works really well and since it's watered into the mound, the chickens shouldn't have a chance to eat it at all.

 

[elmo]

An organic approach:

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/organic/garden/view_question/id/1341/

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Quote:
Thanks, Elmo. We lived in Waxahachie for 5 years and I always enjoyed watching the Dirt Doctor...really miss it since we no longer receive any of the DFW TV stations on our cable.

I was told to use molasses on my Knot Root Nematode problem so DH bought a gallon at the feedstore so have that and the compost...will have DH pick up some Orange Oil today!