Preventing fire ants

[mi2bugz]

My search feature isn't working . How do you "treat" your lawn to prevent fire ants so it's not dangerous to the chickens? I have a solution I use of dish soap and hot water and that kills them but I am trying to keep them away so my 2 yr old grandson can play in the yard. We are in north central Texas.

 

[coleco]

I mix baby shampoo and essential orange oil extract that i purcase on amazon and spray with a ortho lawn sprayer. Baby shampoo is chemically the same as expensive soil softeners, orange oil prevents bugs with hard shells like beetles, and ants, as well as cats which hate citrus. You could just use orange oil i just combine the two traditionally.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Quote:

My search feature isn't working

. How do you "treat" your lawn to prevent fire ants so it's not dangerous to the chickens? I have a solution I use of dish soap and hot water and that kills them but I am trying to keep them away so my 2 yr old grandson can play in the yard. We are in north central Texas.

The only even semi, or temporary control measures that work with fire ants is poison ant bait. When you disturb the mound fire ants simply relocate the mound, the colony is still there, right below your feet and the tunnels may cover an acre. I suspect that is why you said, "keep them away"

Although fire ants have fearsome jaws with which to bite they can't eat solid food. All the food is first cut up and fed to the fire ant's young or larva, who chew it up and regurgitate a portion of it in a liquid form. The nurse ants collect this pre digested "food" and distribute it through out the colony. The ant bait kills off the larva effectively starving the adult ants, the multiple queens included.

 

[mi2bugz]

Thank you for the info. Looking into both options. Much appreciated!