I HATE fire ants! I hate them hate them hate them!!!!!!

[serendipity22]

One of my peahen was hatching a baby and the fire ants raided the nest. I dusted the whole area with Sevin dust ((yeah, yeah, yeah, cancer..) also surrounded the nest with a nice circle of it. She was able to hatch the rest of the babies. I don't hesitate to put it down when its about egg hatching time.

DE ain't worth squat for this application. Love it for other uses though.

 

[gmendoza]

cayene or habinero chilis can kill fire ants.Just blend to a fine juice,then either spray it on the nests and/or ants.It does kill.

 

[ConnieW]

The best thing I have found is to use Basic H. It was originally made over 50 years ago as a cleaning agent and is still around today. Although it wasn't made to kill ants, I have found that it kills them instantly! I've been told that it does that by penetrating their exoskeletons and drowning them.

No running to another nest, or worries that it won't kill the Queen! In fact, I have timed it... only about 5 seconds after it hits them and their dead!

It is 100% nontoxic so it won't hurt to be sprayed around the nests, near your cattle or even near water. You just mix 1/4 teaspoon of it in 16 oz of water so it is very cheap. A 16 oz bottle of Basic H makes about 5,000 bottles of it so you will always have it handy! I always keep a bottle ready. Its literally the best thing I have ever found and will never use anything else!

Here's the website where you can learn more about it: www.help-me-get-rid-of-ants.com.

 

[Magic Birdie]

Aww poor chickies, I would hate them too!

 

[rancher hicks]

I didn't know they had fire ants in Alabama. My family lives in Millbrook and I've been but I don't know whether they are aware of them.

There hasn't been anything done to kill them? You know a poison of some kind? I have a poison here that I put on little cards and then the ants gather round and then I notice them all gone. It's something they carry back to the nest I think.

It's called "Terro" ant killer. Wonder if it would work for you?

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
fire ants were first imported to the U.S. Through an Alabama port.

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

I have only lived in Alabama a couple of months, and I have already have had more encounters with the fire ant then I care too! At this point I am going to use chemicals and just keep the animals off until it is safe.

However, it would help to know which chemicals work the best so I don't have to reapply that often!

Geez, my dogs can't even crap in the backyard without ants bothering them!

 

[galanie]

Quote:
OMG I didn't know they still made Basic H! Thanks

My mom swore by that stuff, she used it in her rose sprays to make the spray stick and used it by itself to kill aphids and other bugs on her roses.

I too hate fire ants with a passion. They do seem to be horrible this year and are in EVERYTHING. I too want to go Organic but no organics that I have tried so far work. Amdro doesn't do anything either. But soaking with a good Pyrethrin does. Only trouble is, no place around here carries a good one any more. They all have Permethrin that doesn't work nearly as well, if you are lucky enough to find it. Now I'm going to order some Basic H!

 

[Dapplepony]

Quote:
I have used Terro and it kinda works. Every year, we would have ants in the kitchen, and My dad would use Terro and they would be gone. But they always came back every year.

I heard that an organic thing is to plant mint. It works but I live out west so I don`t know if it would work for you. Another thing is cucumber peel. I have not tried this. Again, I live out west so I don`t know if these work with fire ants.

 

[halo]

Amdro works the best of anything. Everything else suggested (dont waste your money on DE) will kill the ants you see and those close to the surface, but not the queen. You just dont know where she is, she can be 3 feet away from where the mound is. I use a lot of amdro, and have very few ants now. I use a LOT. I get some evil sort of thrill sprinkling Amdro around a mound, and seeing them come out of the mound and start to tote the granules down to Miss Queen. Once she's dead, the mound is dead. So if you dont target her, you're wasting your time and money. Sometimes Ill buy a container and just sprinkling around the house and yard in the late evening, not targeting anything specific. Seems to be working really good (knocking wood furiously). Nothing else has worked.

http://www.extension.org/pages/14345/fire-ant-control:-the-two-step-method-and-other-approaches