Yard Under Water and Ants Have Moved In

[Props4Chicks]

This past week it has rained non-stop. Now my yard is under water and my the fire ants have decided that the coop is the best high ground available. My poor girls are being bitten by the ants (they are biting them back!) and with all the water around I can't put anything around the coop. I've read the threads about DE and I plan to get some but everything I've read says it doesn't work on fire ants. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? Thanks for any help.

 

[Chick Charm]

I wonder if SEVIN would help with that?

 

[appps]

No idea on the fire ants but we got soaked too last week and to get them up on something dry I put those bread trays the bakers use down which gut us up above the mud and water and in their coop put hay over the trays to give them a nicer floor to walk on as even in there was under water.

Something like that would also get them up and away from any ant bait you put underneath the trays for the ants. You could slip a plate with the ant poison underneath.

 

[Props4Chicks]

Would that be sevin dust? Is SEVIN harmful to the chickens? Would the water on the ground make it not work? Hmmm... I will have to do some research on it. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Props4Chicks]

It's the same here. My girls run is under water. They need mini waders!

Not a bad idea about using the bread trays and hay to get them up out of the water. I have a concrete pad I am considering putting them on temporarily but it doesn't have any shade so I worry about them getting too hot. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Props4Chicks]

Sooo.... No rain at all today until about 2 hours ago. I was sure hoping that it wouldn't rain at all and give the water a chance to drain away. But no such luck. It has been thundering and heavy storming the whole time since. I did have a chance before it started to move the girls coop and give them some clean shavings. Hopefully I picked higher ground and the ants drown.

 

[Chick Charm]

Yes, you can put sevin on chickens. There is even a thread on here where the chickens ate it and still lived. No one is recommending feeding though.

I use Ortho ant killer sold at Lowes/Home Depot ect. It works with ants. I took out over 100 mounds in the last couple of months. And so did my neighbors.

Phil

 

[CluckCluck18]

I'm not a fan of Sevin....it may be OK for chickens but it is a chemical....bad for everyone including the Earth and the water supply. :/
I was just on another post about ants and someone was talking about Basic H.....a Shaklee product. It's a concentrate that you dilute with water and spray....and it's natural. I'm going to give it a try. :/

 

[Props4Chicks]

I thought I would post what I did to tackle my ant problem for any others who are looking for solutions to ants. After a lot of research, I decided to use food grade Diatomaceous Earth. I purchased it at a local Mom and Pop pet store.

I move their coop once a week and before I move it to the new spot, I lightly sprinkle it on the ground where the coop is going to be. I also mix it with their pine shavings/bedding. It seems to be working. The ants disappear for about 5 or 6 days then start trickling back around day six or seven but by then it's time to move the coop again. Hope this helps others with fire ant problems.