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

[KristyHall]

I went into the coup this morning to let my chickens out and check on the broody mama and found thee of the chicks had started to hatch and were covered in fire ants.

They were dead and the mother had rolled the other eggs away and sat on the remaining eggs but she was covered in fire ants. she kept shaking her head and pecking them off but she was loosing. I was then stung and bit multiple times as i cleaned her and the eggs off and moved her with the remaining eggs to another nest.

those three babies could not be saved.

 

[Rte.66_chicks]

Wow! I sure hope that you find a way to keep them from the new nest. I have used Amdro sucessfully in the run by putting a cinder block over or near the ant nest, shimmed up a bit with little sticks so the ants can get underneath. then I put the Amdro inside the block, and put something like a brick on top of it so that the chickens cannot get to the Amdro.

Good luck!!

 

[KristyHall]

what is ambro exactly *grumbles as her hands are turning red and swelling form all the ant bites* I never thought I would dislike any of the Creator's creatures so much as i do fire ants.

 

[KenK]

I've used Amdro with fairly good results. It looks a lot like chick starter feed so you would need to be very careful where you used it. I am assuming it would not be good for chickens to eat.

 

[jbowyer01]

Yep fire ants are horrible. It seems they are worse this year than ever. I ended up having to block areas with rolled up fencing and such and poisoning them. I dont like using anything like pesticides but they were getting ridiculous. They were even in the feeders. I'm sorry you lost three little ones. As for your bites benadryl cream.


Oh I use Bengal, Its a powder form. I buy it Lowes.

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

http://www.baitisbetter.com/

I have so grown to hate those little B#%*tereds. I will be trying out the Andros tomorrow! I have some other stuff, but the mounds keep popping up all over the yard.....not including the pasture.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
I am the same way. I do not like using chemicals but I am not a strict "organic or nothing" person.

I am considering trying amonia from a paint store, or Spinosad. I hear that these are fairly safe in the long term and less likely to poison my animals.

i will have to stock up on bynadril cream

 

[Baymule]

You can stir up the nest and cover with DE. diatomaceous ?sp ? earth. It gets 'em and no chemicals.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I break all the rules. I just pour about a cup of gasoline in the top of every mound I see late in the evening.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
does it really work? i would be afraid i would set everything else on fire in the process