Fire Ants

[Sharylva]

Here in Central Texas we have a lot of problems with Fire Ants. Is this something I'm going to need to be on guard for or will the chickens eat them?

 

[Lbrad7]

Fire ants are terrible up here in NW GA too. My birds won't touch them (who can blame them!!) I try and stay on top of them as early in the season as I can with the granular baits that you just scatter out on the ground all around my runs. So far it has kept them from getting established near my pens. I then treat any mounds that pop up within a few hundred feet of my coop directly.

If they build a mound in the run or along the edge I don't know what you can do. I would never use the poison where my birds could get at it.

 

[Love my Critters!]

You can also dust the inside edges of the run with DE and I put DE in my nest boxes and it keeps the ants out. I have had ants get in the nest boxes when I had broodies hatching eggs and that is not good. The DE works great for that.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

If they build a mound in the run or along the edge I don't know what you can do

Treat them like any other mound, but turn a box upside down to cover it​

 

[JudyK]

I think we have every type of ant possible. Last year the fire ants took over my veggie garden. They tore me up when I tried to work in it. Like others said, I covered it with DE and it worked great. I used the Safer brand. I plan on getting the food grade for my coop. It's new and the carpenter ants get into everything. I know it's just a matter of time before they try to move in.

 

[Rohnasmom]

Yep I sprinkle the de everywhere FOOD GRADE ONLY!!!!

 

[babyrnlc]

I hate fire ants. We used to live in Jacksonville texas. I loved it, but HATED the fire ants.

MY son got an ant farm for his birthday and you send off for ants. They sent them in a tube and my older son said, "Mom those are fire ants" I was like, no they would not send fire ants. Well we loaded them, (a nightmare) and must have missed one. I got bit and they were indeed fire ants! I had a red welp for weeks! Who would put fire ants in a child's ant farm?!?!?

I pray that thing never gets knocked over. I want to go drown them all!!!

 

[GeneJordan]

I have always been partial to gasoline...

Oh, and a match...