Florida Ownders- Fire Ants????

[9ByDesign]

If you use some kind of product to kill Fire Ants that is safe to use around occassional free-range chickens, please let me know.

 

[lavacaw]

Had a big problem with fire ants getting into my feed bin...dusted it thoroughly with DE and they disappeared. It is safe for use on chickens so I would give it a try.

 

[BrattishTaz]

I've been worried about fire ants too. I've always be reluctant to use chemical pesticides but now I definately wouldn't with my birds running around. I am going to have to try DE.

 

[dawg53]

That's one good thing that DE can be used for...it works for deterring fire ants, that's what I use it for.

 

[ranchhand]

FOOD GRADE DE, not pool grade. Most places sell pool grade.

 

[9ByDesign]

Does it kill fire ants or just make them move their pile?

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

we had fire ants in our coop and I tried everything I found a product that is organic its called Orangeguard Ace hardware has it or you can get it online. It is safe to use inside and outside and smells great. It worked for me.

 

[queenbeezz]

I've been killing off fire ants for years with good old fashioned grits. They eat them and the moisture in their bodies swell the grits and they die, workers carry them down to the queen. It takes longer but is effective. Sprinkle the mounds in the morning before you let the chickens out, You have to do it everyday until the mound is gone. I have also heard some people say they pour boiling water in the mounds.

 

[halo]

That grits story comes up now and again, and is absolutely false.

From an online article:

There are many myths concerning fireant (or ant) mound elimination or colony elimination. None of the foods (grits, oatmeal, etc.) will cause any type of internal problems with an ant. They do not get fatal flatulence; they do not blow up --it just does not work that way!
In the first place, adult ants cannot digest solid foods. Worker ants can be seen going back to their colony with either a swollen belly (from liquid foods) or carrying a solid piece of food. Solids are fed to ant larvae in the nursery; larvae digest the solids and immediately regurgitate the nutrients back to the adult worker ants. These ants, in turn, feed other ants in the colony. On the average, each worker ant will feed 10 other ants. This unique transfer of nutrients insures that any poisons or bad foods are filtered out before reaching the queen and the workers around her.
Second, ants love corn! Many farmers have severely damaged their machinery while running into or over large fireant mounds in the fields. Thousands of pounds of grain products are tossed into the trash by home owners each year, because ants invaded the containers in which grains are stored. Ants love corn and it does not kill them!
The myth with grits (and other grains) began when the general public discovered that small grains of ground corn (in essence, grits!) are the carrier in many ant baits. The carrier is just that -- the product on which the attractant (soybean oil, etc.) and the pesticide (Hydramethylnon, etc.) are placed. The carrier is just the vehicle with which we disperse granular pesticides and baits.
When people dump grits or other such objects onto an ant mound, the ants do not appreciate the door of their home being disturbed. They then build another door (mound) to their colony, deserting the one covered with grains. Ants have many uses for their mound (incubating young, etc.) and do not appreciate it when you dump things on top! When all is said and done, the colony did not even move (as most people believe), it just built another doorway to the colony.
This is good to remember when using an ant bait: do not dump the product on top of the ant mound or nest. Instead, broadcast your baits around the mound and in other areas where ants are seen foraging for food.

 

[Scottingitup]

My sure-fire way, a little gas a minute or two for it to soak in. Light. It will take repeated applications as new mounds form but only for a little while.