Long term ant repellent that won't harm chickens?

[FlyWheel]

The mounds are not near the coop, at least they haven't found it yet. But I have had common ants in the coop before and they never bothered the chickens. oddly enough the chickens ignore that ants as well. I was more worries about them bothering us and our guests (no one likes ants at their picnic). I do use DE in their coop to keep pests down, I'll try spreading it around their mounds and see how it works,

 

[NSKDodge]

My Dad is a tree guy up here in NY and part of his job is to spray for insects, he uses this organic spray called EcoVia that is to be diluted and then sprayed around the lawn & property to kill insects, we trust it even with the horses. I wonder if you could just pour some of the concentrated stuff down the holes? here's a link for the stuff on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KYSP2Y2/?tag=backy-20

 

[Henry&Friends]

has anyone tried pumping the holes full of DE? That’s how I saved my back porch from a hornet invasion...

 

[FlyWheel]

My Dad is a tree guy up here in NY and part of his job is to spray for insects, he uses this organic spray called EcoVia that is to be diluted and then sprayed around the lawn & property to kill insects, we trust it even with the horses. I wonder if you could just pour some of the concentrated stuff down the holes? here's a link for the stuff on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KYSP2Y2/?tag=backy-20

An 1800 pound horse is not an 8 pound chicken that stands close to the ground scratching and nibbling at everything it can get it's beak around. Assuming that it is chook-safe though, I do like that it will last for a few months (I hope that period includes rainy days!) as I would like something I can broadcast giving a blanket protection/prevention.

 

[David61]

Boiling water from my large pot. It has to be a large pot of water to stay hot enough.
Gasoline , you don't light it.
This worked one time for me in dry weather. 1/2 a cup of corn meal and a half a cup of real grits.
Gas is my go to that works every time or than poison. It doesn't take much.

 

[imnukensc]

I use 2 products for fire ant control. Orthene Fire Ant Killer for individual mounds. It's a powder sprinkled directly on and around the mound. Depending on the sizeof the mound, might use a tablespoon at the most for an individual mound. Since it's a powder, the chickens don't bother it at all. Another I use, is Over 'N Out. I use that in a broadcast spreader, but I do not water it in like the directions tell you to. (It rains enough here not to do that, IMO.) It is an extremely fine granue unlike the large Amdro granules. The chickens would be very unlikely to find it at all. Once spread I can't find it even when looking for it. both have been very effective treatments for me..

 

[NSKDodge]

An 1800 pound horse is not an 8 pound chicken that stands close to the ground scratching and nibbling at everything it can get it's beak around. Assuming that it is chook-safe though, I do like that it will last for a few months (I hope that period includes rainy days!) as I would like something I can broadcast giving a blanket protection/prevention.

My 1000lb horse literally eats the grass that it’s sprayed onto and has a much more sensitive digestive system than an 8lb chicken.

 

[cmom]

I've tried DE and it did nothing. As an experiment I put some permethrin dust on the ants and that seemed to take care of them. I use it in my coops as well as the spray and it also gets rid of the flies as well as other pests and no egg withdrawal period.

My 1000lb horse literally eats the grass that it’s sprayed onto and has a much more sensitive digestive system than an 8lb chicken.

 

[FlyWheel]

I knew permeation dust is used in coops and is safe around chickens, I didn't know it worked on ants though, Thanks! How long does it last / do I have to re-apply? Will it withstand rain (which it can do here in SC,,,a lot).

 

[cmom]

I was surprised too. I didn't reapply it. I did go to check and was ready to. Maybe they moved but there were no more ants and I didn't see any evidence of more around there. The ants were next to our barn where the rain runs off of the roof. We get plenty of rain here too. I hate those things.