Long term ant repellent that won't harm chickens?

[FlyWheel]

Hi.

At my old home I used to spread a 6 month fire ant killer to control ants on my property. However there my birds were kept in a large pen and weren't allowed to free range because of my dogs.

Here at Phoenix Haven, however, I do intend to periodically let them roam (supervised). Recently I found a few mounds and because we the people also intend on using this area from time to time the ants cannot stay. Is there a dependable way to prevent ants from building their homes that will not introduce poisons that would harm the chickens or us through their eggs?

 

[alwaystj9]

I fight fire ants constantly. I treat mounds and use sprays, powders. The chickens were too attracted to the granulars. AmDro was considered a chicken delicacy at my house. It is corn-based. Had to get rid of that stuff fast. I have never found any natural/green product that was effective for Fire Ants. Frequent mowing/nest disturbance helps. I think my neighbor and I just chase the ants back and forth across the fence line anyway. I am very interested in any new products/ideas anyone has.

 

[Skippersnh]

Worms

 

[mymilliefleur]

Try pouring boiling water on the nests. It's the most effective natural fire ant treatment I've found.

 

[aart]

Can you fence off the mounds so the chicken can't get at them.
Never dealt with fire ants so I may be way off base,
I'll assume the mounds are less than a foot in diameter,
and poison is applied directly to mounds.
So maybe a circular 'corral' out of 1x2 cage mesh 4-6 feet in diameter might keep the birds safe.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Can you fence off the mounds so the chicken can't get at them.
Never dealt with fire ants so I may be way off base,
I'll assume the mounds are less than a foot in diameter,
and poison is applied directly to mounds.
So maybe a circular 'corral' out of 1x2 cage mesh 4-6 feet in diameter might keep the birds safe.

I like this idea, although my whole yard would be covered in little fences. The fire ants in Florida are BAD! I have dusted the hills with Cinnamon. They leave and make another hill in a different spot. Ants can survive under water for 15 days.

 

[FlyWheel]

No fire ant mounds here yet (knock on wood); so far just plain old garden variety ants. I know from experience that boiling water just makes them angry. An ant colony can extend feet below the surface, way beyond the range of boiling water. And after countless thousands of years ants have devised numerous ways to survive flooding anyway.

 

[RaineyTN]

I’ll keep my birds up for a couple days and put this stuff called surrender on the mounds. After a couple days I basically just turn the mounds over and stomp it back down. It a been workin for me but If I saw the chickens scratching around in there I’d prolly try to figure something else out.

 

[GodofPecking]

anthill casting

it is a bit extreme but also beautiful at the same time

 

[aart]

No fire ant mounds here yet (knock on wood); so far just plain old garden variety ants.

Ah, I misread.
There are dozens(at least) species/sub-species of ants...are you sure these are a problem worthy of poisoning?