How do I kill ants in and around chicken coop?

[gila_dog]

We have little black ants and bigger red harvester ants. The red ants are aggressive and will sting you. I ignore the little black ants but I don't want the red ants. I've used a product called Amdro on the red ants and it's pretty effective. You sprinkle some around the entrance to their colony and they all die. The colony doesn't come back for a long time, if ever. I wonder if it's just cornmeal (sure looks like cornmeal) with sugar??? It's pretty expensive.

 

[Folly's place]

Ingredient list on package?

 

[Eggs_Over_EZ]

Active ingredients for Andro is hydramethylnon used as an insecticide for control of ants and cockroaches.

 

[gila_dog]

What I like about Amdro, besides its effectiveness, is that the ants take it all down into their hole and it disappears. I've seen other ant poison that stayed around on the ground outside, and it would kill birds. Including chickens. It was called diazonon. Very bad stuff.

 

[Nym]

How to Get Rid of Ant Hills in Your Backyard: 9 Easy Methods​

Mad Backyard

I like the tamping method and remember jumping on anthills in nan's backyard. She had the sandy soil mentioned in the post.

 

[alwaystj9]

I tried Amdro years ago but it is made from corn and chickens, goats & other animals really like to eat it. My chickens were eating it as fast as I put it out until I realized why they were following me. None got sick or had any reactions but I haven't used it since.
From the company (BASF), "Amdro uses a corn grit and soybean oil base, and must be used within three months after opening to be effective. Amdro has several drawbacks: (1) when it rains, or the bait is moisturized, Amdro loses its effectiveness entirely; (2) insecticide baits tend to be slow working, and take up to a month to be effective; and (3) Amdro cannot be used on food crops.

I have not ever found a cheap, non-poisonous nor home made fire ant treatment. Some things (boiling water, charcoal lighter fluid & matches, propane weed torch) will kill the ants directly contacted but not the colony.

Imported fire ant colonies can have a single queen or multiple queens.
Colonies frequently migrate from one site to another. The queen needs only half a dozen workers to start a new colony. Workers can develop a new mound several hundred feet away from their previous location almost overnight.

I hate the darn things but I have to say, I rarely find them in the chicken pen. The pasture and particularly the fenceline are studded with fire ant mounds.

 

[Nym]

I tried Amdro years ago but it is made from corn and chickens, goats & other animals really like to eat it. My chickens were eating it as fast as I put it out until I realized why they were following me. None got sick or had any reactions but I haven't used it since.
From the company (BASF), "Amdro uses a corn grit and soybean oil base, and must be used within three months after opening to be effective. Amdro has several drawbacks: (1) when it rains, or the bait is moisturized, Amdro loses its effectiveness entirely; (2) insecticide baits tend to be slow working, and take up to a month to be effective; and (3) Amdro cannot be used on food crops.

I have not ever found a cheap, non-poisonous nor home made fire ant treatment. Some things (boiling water, charcoal lighter fluid & matches, propane weed torch) will kill the ants directly contacted but not the colony.

Imported fire ant colonies can have a single queen or multiple queens.
Colonies frequently migrate from one site to another. The queen needs only half a dozen workers to start a new colony. Workers can develop a new mound several hundred feet away from their previous location almost overnight.

I hate the darn things but I have to say, I rarely find them in the chicken pen. The pasture and particularly the fenceline are studded with fire ant mounds.

The fire ant issue is an interesting one. In Brisbane, Australia, the city council wiped out all fire ants from local parks etc, but the home gardener has to struggle on. hmmm

 

[alwaystj9]

The fire ant issue is an interesting one. In Brisbane, Australia, the city council wiped out all fire ants from local parks etc, but the home gardener has to struggle on. hmmm

Do you know what products they used?

 

[Nym]

Do you know what products they used?

I wouldn't know, sorry. I'm in NSW and we don't seem to have them here .. yet. I just came across this site: National Fire Ant Eradication Program | Home Treatment
I then clicked on Treatment types and Bait safety. There is a video, which I'm about to watch. See if you can find anything on the site that might be of use.

 

[Nym]

Products commonly found in flea collars and mozzie control.