UGH.. Fire ants and the garden

[SarahBeth9394]

I planted a green bean row as part of my gardening. Last time I tried green beans I only transplanted one that was potted. It croaked after a month. So I planted a row of seeds and they are doing great. But today there are fire ants all over them. I don't know what to do.

 

[aggie9296]

sevin dust will kill them or at least run them off. just wash the beans well before cooking.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

You can do a search for DE and fire ants.

I think I read that diatomaceous earth kills fire ants. (fossil shell flour)

 

[aggie9296]

let me dispel a myth. DE does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT, kill fire ants. doesn't even scare them to relocate. just makes them white powdered fire ants. i'm sure it makes an excellent sunblock for them. but it does NOT KILL THEM!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:

Thank you for clarifying that!!!

Fire ants are nasty. When we lived in NC my mom got bitten by some and she said it was like a burn.

Sevin dust is the winner, then!

Maybe we should all buy stock in sevin dust, lol.

Op, yeah my one potted transplant green bean is not doing too well, either, in my greenhouse. Reading your post makes me think maybe they need to be just put in the ground. Mine was from my oldest son's class project.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I try not to use chemicals around my chickens, dogs, and cats. What effect will the sevin have on them?

 

[TammyTX]

Fireants are a problem with my small garden, too. I can't use baits because of the chickens. Right now, the ants and I have mutual understanding that we each stay out of the others way. One hint I can give you that works for me, is wearing wool socks with my Crocs in the garden. Not the coolest thing (I mean that both ways) for summer in Texas, but the ants don't seem to want to crawl up my legs when I wear them.

Here is a good site with a lot of info for organic control.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/fireants.html

I have used the boiling water method before and the ant eggs popped up like grains of cooked rice...chickens loved 'em!

 

[mamawolf544]

Quote:
Not to argue, but I live in Texas and I use DE faithfully. It does make my fire ants leave. I keep all the mounds far away from my house with the stuff with great results. I quit using sevin dust when we couldn't buy the weaker type anymore. All our sevin dust is listed to keep away from pets.

But I use DE for fly control in all my chicken and quail pens, around my house and barn. On all ant beds, in my dogs quarters. I swear by it. I dont think it kills too many fire ants but mine move. And I just keep sprinkling it every few days until I have them away from my house and animals.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

We just got some sevin for the fleas so it sounds like a win win to me.

 

[TammyTX]

I didn't ask before...

You said fireants were all over the beans, but are they eating the actual bean?