How do I safely remove fire ants from my vegetable garden?

[AllenK RGV]

https://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/nature/kill-ants-with-grits-zm0z15amzkin
You could try grits. I'm not sure what fire ants eat though.

I have never seen "grit"'s for sale here in south Texas, is there another name for them?

 

[AllenK RGV]

We do have HEB stores if that helps to find yankee grits.

 

[Xerocles]

We do have HEB stores if that helps to find yankee grits.

Yankee grits??? That's like saying hard softs! I realize you can't find grits north of the Mason-Dixon, but I thought you good ole boys in Texas would have at least HEARD of it. Ground corn, coarser than corn meal, a little finer than scratch feed. How can you eat eggs without grits and red eye gravy with a couple of buttermilk bisquits?

 

[AllenK RGV]

We have fruit stands here, you know tax free and everything is a dollar or two, breakfast comes from the blender usually a mango or two plus bananas and a melon plus lime or a two. Corn is for the chicken usually we get it unshorn in the ear 5 for a dollar. I live in Texico.

I do go down the isle that sells oatmeal in HEB from time to time but have never seen anything labled as grits is why I asked.

 

[AllenK RGV]

ok my HEB plus seems to sell them.... I will be on the lookout for these.... https://www.heb.com/search/results?...ew&prodFilter=store&q=grits&_requestid=210913

 

[Xerocles]

ok my HEB plus seems to sell them.... I will be on the lookout for these....

See! I went to the site you listed. (We don't have HEB here. Maybe endemic to TX? Anyhow, that website even has a recipe for LONESTAR SHRIMP AND GRITS. How much more Texas can you get than that?
BTW. Liked your take on local breakfast.

 

[Ginmary]

In the South the recipe is called grits. In the North, it is called Polenta (Italian, obviously)
It is ALL Cornmeal. Just depends on how you cook it and where you live as to what you call it. They may sell different coarseness but it is still 100% cornmeal. It is also what a lot of pizza places use under their pizza in the oven to make the pizza not stick. Look at the ingredients on the labels.

 

[Ginmary]

PS: if the cornmeal you find looks too coarse for the ants, just give it a few pulses in the food processor.

 

[Vadard]

Problem solved! Guineas LOVE to wander. Grab some treats, take about a 1/4 mile walk. Each day, don't walk quite so far. Soon, the guineas will be feasting on your ants, and if anybody complains about the noise, well hey, they're the NEIGHBORS guineas. What can you do?

The "Like" button does not adequately convey my respect for this brilliant idea.

 

[EggWalrus]

Get rid of ants (& ticks & fleas & wasps & any other buggy pests AND indulge in some chicken math at the same time. Get a few GUINEAS!

Ducks will get the bugs (and even slugs) out of your garden. And they usually won't eat everything up