Steamed fire ants, anyone?

[AquaDuck]

The new delicacy, microwaved ants!

 

[trudyg]

Fire ants can kill you. You don't know you're allergic until it's too late, usually. That is one pest that I use poison on. Any pesticide that contains acephate will do the trick. A #1 can of pure acephate powder will cost around $18, will stink up the garage and last for years. I keep an iced-tea spoon (long handle) with my can and use the spoon to sprinkle about a teaspoon on each mound, then give it a quick stir. My grandkids love to go on 'ant patrol'. Now, don't go thinking I poison my entire yard here. Fire ants must build a mound high enough to launch the queen, maybe 10" or so high. If you keep your yard mowed, you will still see the ant hills, but can mow over them and they'll be dead next time you mow (don't linger, they'll get on the mower). Mounds continually appear because of underground tunnels, but regular mowing makes a world of difference. They love rotten wood (underground roots), hay bales or any loose, fluffy material. Raised beds, hay-bale gardens--that sort of thing. Their sting is like fire and will blister up and itch for several days. And chickens don't eat them...

 

[Member 482121]

Oh i hate fireants! I hate, hate, hate them!
Moved from Germany to Houston, TX and didn't even know this pest exists! Nobody warned me! We bought our first house in the 'burbs and i wanted a nice backyard and started to plant flowers. Crawling on all four through the yard (never crawl on all four outside in Texas!!!) i hit a fireant nest with my legs. It felt like somebody had poured red hot lava over me! I got stung all over my legs, even under my feet! When trying to get rid of them i got stung in my hands and arms, ended up hosing myself down with the garden-hose, stripping naked in the backyard! I ended up in the ER where they couldn't do much for me other than painkillers and antibiotics. That was 2008! I still have the scars on my legs and they start to bleed when my skin gets really dry.

Only a dead fire-ants are a good fire-ants!!!

​

Feuer Amaisen sind scheisse, nicht wahr?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Feuer Amaisen sind scheisse, nicht wahr?

Absolut scheisse!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Fire ants can kill you. You don't know you're allergic until it's too late, usually. That is one pest that I use poison on. Any pesticide that contains acephate will do the trick. A #1 can of pure acephate powder will cost around $18, will stink up the garage and last for years. I keep an iced-tea spoon (long handle) with my can and use the spoon to sprinkle about a teaspoon on each mound, then give it a quick stir. My grandkids love to go on 'ant patrol'. Now, don't go thinking I poison my entire yard here. Fire ants must build a mound high enough to launch the queen, maybe 10" or so high. If you keep your yard mowed, you will still see the ant hills, but can mow over them and they'll be dead next time you mow (don't linger, they'll get on the mower). Mounds continually appear because of underground tunnels, but regular mowing makes a world of difference. They love rotten wood (underground roots), hay bales or any loose, fluffy material. Raised beds, hay-bale gardens--that sort of thing. Their sting is like fire and will blister up and itch for several days. And chickens don't eat them...

The problem with fire-ants is that they quickly develop resistances against environmentally "friendly" pesticides. In Houston i tried pyrethrum, even planted a lot of Pyrethrum plants, no success. Diatomic earth kept them out of the house but had to be applied again and again after heavy rainfall - which is quite common in south central Texas…
In the front yard and driveway i used gasoline: The fumes kill the ants instantly but that is a fire hazard.
Chickens don't eat them? - Far worse, they eat the chickens! One of my neighbor had three "illegal" chickens (HoA said no poultry) and in one night the ants killed them all.
Oh i could go on and on with horrific stories about cattle, horses, pigs, pets…
We never had any mice or rats in the village and i blame the fire-ants for that, but given the choice i prefer a feisty rat and a bunch of mice!
I love hot, warm and humid weather, but the fire-ants were one of the reasons we've moved to West Virginia. No fire-ants here!