Help...I've got Fire Ants

[Liz Birdlover]

I'm in Delaware. I moved here in 2006 & when I planted some shrubs I brought with me, I was stung by some nasty ants that crawled up my shovel, into my glove & stung me so badly my hand swelled for a week. This past spring & summer, being in the yard & home more since work shut down due to covid, I got stung a lot more. I called my local Dept of Agriculture, they actually came & collected samples & saw they were in various spots on my 2 acre parcel. They identified them as European Fire Ants, Myrmica rubra
https://g.co/kgs/8URKjp

These little stinging assholes are making my life, and my sweet chickens' lives, absolutely miserable. I don't know how long they've been here, don't know how widespread they are. I was told to use ant baits. Yeah, right...I bought what the Home Depot had, little green plastic things with a few tablespoons worth of bait, spiked into the ground. I did see the ants going in & out, but was there any reduction in their population? Hell no!

I roll out 150 feet of hose to water plants & can't even roll it back up...it is covered with the damn fire ants! So they are literally everywhere.

I've tried to keep my property organic. I've got my sweet flock pecking around & dustbathing. I've got a wildflower honeybee habitat area, butterfly habitats & various veggies, fruits & edible flowers & herbal plants. Spreading some kind of pellets won't work. Ant baits seem better, but how many do ya think I'm gonna need? Yeah right...I don't think they make that many & I can't afford them if they do.

I've tried other "remedies" I saw on youtube, such as orange oil, Dawn mixed with salt & vinegar, where the ants are in gravel driveway (can't use any of that stuff where you plan to grow anything). Did NOT work at all, a waste of time & money. I tried DE, sprinkled a ton of it throughout a huge garden area, didn't work. BTW, this type of ant does not create a mound. If I just walk outside and stand still, looking down, fireants start crawling on my shoes, so who the hell knows just exactly where the queens & nest hubs are. Baits seem to be the logical choice.

So...I tried to see if there are any natural predators, besides the Anteater animals that come to mind. Turns out, there's a certain type of Phorid Fly, that goes after these ants, quite successfully. They've established these flies in FL, AL & TX & they are making a difference. I doubt the ants will ever fully be eradicated, but the flies are reducing their numbers.

I have reached out to anyone I possibly could, to get some of these flies. No one will help me. They claim it is expensive & labor intensive to get these flies. Whatever. All I know is, I've got an issue & right now moving away is not an option. I've incubated & handfed baby birds out of the egg, I've had a meal worm farm going strong for 5 yrs, I've successfully moved & created hatching habitat terrariums for Butterflies, Golden Orbs & Praying Mantis cocoons when we had hurricanes & extreme weather, all with successful releases. I have the willingness, dedication & would do whatever is required, can set up an entire bathroom to be 95 degrees & humid if I have to.

So, I am putting this "out there" to my flock loving friends here on this wonderful site, to see if anyone has any suggestions. I am going to reach out to ant baits companies, see if they may offer any help, too.

I just spoke with Terro...their outdoor baits are just for regular ants, only filled with sugar & Borax, not effective against MOST types of fire ants. I guess it depends upon type of fire ant...the Ag Dept told me to use them...very confusing.

I have a call into an expert in AL, will let you know what he recommends.

 

[azygous]

Boy-o-boy, do I not envy you. You sure do have the Problem-In-Need-Of-A Solution. Maybe some of our southern US BYC members can lend their experience and solutions.

I would be driven to something radical such as a flame thrower.

 

[cmom]

I used permethrin on the ant mounds. I don't know if it killed them or they moved on but they disappeared.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Boy-o-boy, do I not envy you. You sure do have the Problem-In-Need-Of-A Solution. Maybe some of our southern US BYC members can lend their experience and solutions.

I would be driven to something radical such as a flame thrower.

I wish this type of ant created a mound, I would flame it up, but they are widespread underground.
I'm reaching out to various states Dept of Ags to try & get help.

 

[citymeetscountry]

No help, we’ve got the issue in AR too-well not currently, but I’m sure they’ll be back. We only moved here in June. My husband usually lights up the mounds, so our fire ants are different. I want to built a bigger coop for the girls in the garden area and add ducks to our pond, but both places tend to get riddled with them if you find a solution I’d love to hear it! Best of luck

 

[Liz Birdlover]

No help, we’ve got the issue in AR too-well not currently, but I’m sure they’ll be back. We only moved here in June. My husband usually lights up the mounds, so our fire ants are different. I want to built a bigger coop for the girls in the garden area and add ducks to our pond, but both places tend to get riddled with them if you find a solution I’d love to hear it! Best of luck

So far the only way to address them is with ant baits & phorid flies. Good luck getting the type of phorid flies that attack the ants...not easy trying to get them. They've been introduced in FL, AL & TX.

I spoke with an expert in AL yesterday...he said the government yanked the funding for the Phorid Fly project...so we are stuck with ant baits now.

 

[Bwc]

I wish this type of ant created a mound, I would flame it up, but they are widespread underground.
I'm reaching out to various states Dept of Ags to try & get help.

Water your acre as often as possible... i once ridded my lawn of ants by water it for a week.... just left the sprinkler on 24 hours a day for a week. Ants like drier ground to live in.... i saw a line of ants carrying eggs leaving my lawn heading across my driveway to the neighbours lawn... worked out perfect.....! Haha worth a shot.

 

[azygous]

The image of that is hilarious.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Water your acre as often as possible... i once ridded my lawn of ants by water it for a week.... just left the sprinkler on 24 hours a day for a week. Ants like drier ground to live in.... i saw a line of ants carrying eggs leaving my lawn heading across my driveway to the neighbours lawn... worked out perfect.....! Haha worth a shot.

The European fire ants are different, flooding has not affected them.

 

[citymeetscountry]

I always notice more fire ant (mounds?) after the rain. So I suspect may be similar where I am.
Are the granulars and issue with the other animals? I worry about chemical stuff being toxic for the animals and my kids.