Need help with ants infesting tractor!

[Scifisarah]

We are having a problem with tiny black ants infesting our mobile tractor. There is a huge black mass of them inside, out of the reach of our birds and think they are slowly chewing away the wood to the point where it will fall apart. We just repainted everything and resealed some seams but they are still thriving somehow.

I am very worried that if I use chemicals to kill them, the ants will eat it, then my call ducks will eat the ants and get sick. Does anyone know of a specific type of trap or solution that I can place on the inside that will be safe for the ducks?

 

[elmo]

Try searching through the threads here on the use of diatomaceous earth. Good luck!

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

If you have Ace hardware you could try OrangeGuard. It is a natural pest control. We had big black ants in our coop and I sprayed that and it killed them I have not had problems since. You can go online as well but I believe Ace hardware is the only reatiler who carries it. It smells really good as well so you can use it inside.

 

[Scifisarah]

I will check out that OrangeGuard at our local Ace. A fresh orange smell would definitely be a bonus! I've been looking for something more natural to spray around the house which is bordered by my cooking herb gardens, so it sounds like it would work well with that as well.

I line the tractor floor with astroturf that I can pull out and hose off every other day, so I'm not sure how well diatomaceous earth would work with that. If the OrangeGuard doesn't do the trick, I will look more into that.

 

[SpunkyTheMonkey]

if you can find the nest, boiling water down the hole.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Scifisarah, is your avatar one of your roos? If so he is GORGEOUS!

 

[Scifisarah]

Quote:
Thanks! That's Romeo, our one and only rooster. He's a handsome fella and loves the ladies.

 

[Scifisarah]

Quote:
The nest is actually in the wood of the tractor, not in the ground, so boiling water is out.

 

[SpunkyTheMonkey]

zomg, he is tooooooo cute!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Get some oranges, peel them and throw the peels in the run. Chickens wont touch them and the orange oil in them will run off the ants.