Problem with ants

[keelinkiddos]

I am having a big problem with sugar ants - they aren't the tiny black ones either - they are in between the size of a fire ant and a tiny sugar ant and there are millions of them. They don't bite - my chickens even eat them occasionally. They are a huge pain though. Is there a pesticide that I can use on ants that is safe for my girls? I use seven dust in the nest boxes, but it doesn't seem to deter the ants. Please help - any advice is welcome.

 

[possumqueen]

I read a thread about Stall Dry -- DE pelleted with clay that helps keep down flies and such like. I've never used it, but it might be a solution to the ants, too. Or just plain DE scattered around.

just a thought

 

[CMV]

Ants have been really bad this year because of all the rain. The ants are moving to higher ground, which means they are moving in to the chicken coops. DE doesn't do a great job on ants, neither do chickens. Borax sprinkled around the perimeter of your coop and run is marginally effective. Borax mixed with confectioners' sugar and placed in areas where animals can't get to it works pretty well to wipe out the sugar ants. Sugar ants are more of a nuisance than a problem, so you may just want to tolerate their presence. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[purpletree23]

I never had much luck with DE and ants but that could just be me. I love a product called Amdro. Home Depot and Lowes sells it. It comes in different forms like powder and baits. It kills 14 different kinds of ants and I love the stuff.

Because you have chickens that will eat the ants set up the Amdro in such a way that when the chickens come across dead ants they don't eat them. I usually lure the ants to an area using grits for a few days and then when there is a huge number of ants I add the Amdro.

I read on this forum that ants will take the grits back to the nest, feed them to the baby ants and the baby ants will die because they can't digest the grits. I don't know if the grits killed any ants but I know they love grits. It's kinda freaky to see a river of grits moving across the lawn because the ants are taking it back to the nests. I bought the walmart brand. Very inexpensive.

Good luck.

 

[purpletree23]

I never had much luck with DE and ants but that could just be me. I love a product called Amdro. Home Depot and Lowes sells it. It comes in different forms like powder and baits. It kills 14 different kinds of ants and I love the stuff.

Because you have chickens that will eat the ants set up the Amdro in such a way that when the chickens come across dead ants they don't eat them. I usually lure the ants to an area using grits for a few days and then when there is a huge number of ants I add the Amdro.

I read on this forum that ants will take the grits back to the nest, feed them to the baby ants and the baby ants will die because they can't digest the grits. I don't know if the grits killed any ants but I know they love grits. It's kinda freaky to see a river of grits moving across the lawn because the ants are taking it back to the nests. I bought the walmart brand. Very inexpensive.

Good luck.

 

[Amyable]

I have read that Aspartame will kill ants. Try the sweetener Equal. If it kills ants, makes you wonder why its an approved food product...

 

[DianeB]

Try making an herbal spray. Put a few squirts of dish detergent or castile soap (as a binder) in a spray bottle and add 10-20 drops of essential oil. I prefer citronella and cedar. Mint and eucalyptus may also work. Ants are suppose to hate mint.

It will intially kill the ants and then keep them away for several weeks to a few months. (Technically, herbal oils are neurotoxins. However, it is way too small of an amount to hurt chickens, people, cats, etc. It does hurt the more sensitive anthropoids.)

I have done it around the outside of my house. It works like a charm. I didn't have any bugs for months.

I bought the oils at a health food store. I think you can also get it at GNC or online. If not, a good spritz of very soapy water should at kill some of the ants. But, you actually have to spray it on them.

You may also be able to find some products made out of orange oil.

DB

 

[keelinkiddos]

Thank you all for the responses - I am willing to try anything at this point. They are also in the walls of my house - I have pest service too. I haven't tried grits - I know they work for fire ants though. I gererally don't fuss over the ants in the coop as long as they aren't bothering my chickens, but they wouldn't stay in their nest box this morning because it was full of ants and they were coming out covered in ants. So annoying!!!

 

[firedove]

cayenne pepper will deter ants as well. Not sure what chickens think of cayenne so I don't know if the chickens would be detered from areas sprinkled with it. Most ants will not cross over cayenne since it burns them. I used to use it to keep the sugar ants from coming in the open windows during the summer at my parents' house. Just a thin line of it across the whole sill and painted on line around the rest of the window frame deterred their entrance.