Fire Ants

[WharfRat]

really wasn't sure where to put this so.....

Anyone from the South (USA) probably knows what fire ants are
They ain't no fun to put it mildly and not easy to get rid of either. The wife came in and woke me up early this AM, she tells me there's ants in the house. Our house is up on blocks about 2-3ft. depending on the slope of our lot. It's been hotter than you know what recently and no rain. Best I can figure is they smelled/sensed water (that Miri dumps out religiously in her cage daily). There was a line of them thru the front door into the bird area (dining area). We had some gnat/fly spray on hand that is for bird cages and it actually killed them buggers!!!! :11: Then I went and got our other stuff and addressed the issue from the outside. So as of now it's under control. Plan on mowing the grass later (after the sun drops REALLY low and the temps drop :54 so I'll be keeping an eye out for any mounds then and use the hard core stuff on them.

 

[Merlee]

Interesting situation you have there. I live in GA and have fire ant mounds on our property. For the first time, we had them come into sunroom which is leads to the backyard. We have had rain daily in the afternoon so maybe they were looking for a dry place to live. I have joked around with my husband and said Georgia must have be hollow underneath because of all the fire ants.

 

[DebsFlock]

Ugh, no fun! I grew up in FL and once had to be submerged in a bathtub fully clothed because I had gotten into a nest of them.

My M.O. with ants in general is usually to use Windex (kills them instantly) to follow the trail back to the point of entry in the house, which wipes out the ants and the scent track. Then I put a bait at the point of entry. If possible, I also follow the trail from the outside to the nest and bait there as well. I'll use more serious chemicals outside.

I wouldn't use the Windex in the presence of the birds, but I wouldn't worry about using it near/on the cages and then rinsing them.

 

[friedsoup]

Fire ants suck!!!!!!! Growing up in East Tx I've killed my share here are some things I found that worked, Laundry soap Powder kills them and will keep them out( used to use it around the outside AC unit) So will ground Cloves they won't cross it, but for in the yard on mounds the Ortho fire ant powder is the best.

 

[WharfRat]

Well, like I said, I was amazed the stuff we had killed the fire ants on contact, they are mean little beasts. Here's the stuff we used in the house on the floors (NOT for use on the birds themselves!)

Mango Control Natural Aviary & Cage Bug Spray

 

[henpecked]

Oh i know all about fire ants. The key word for you is "Diatamous Earth" used as a fine filter material ,it is made up of skeletons of plankton that collects on the bottom of the sea bed.It has a very spiny skeleton,like a 3D starfish. It is harmless to birds and or larger pets but it gets in the joints on a ants body and makes their life hell. It works great and if you find a cleaning supply place that sells ,it's cheap in large bags. i have another product that works well but it kills everything.

 

[WharfRat]

Hen, I really don't want the ants to be "irritated" I'd rather they just died, they are originally from Africa I believe and came over on bananas or something. Nasty little creatures. :headwall::12:

 

[henpecked]

No they showed up in Moblie Ala on a lot of lumber from SA. Trust me, that stuff will make them"go away". At least enough that you can put some "Talstar" on them and do them in. BTW diatamous earth will kill them. Just sprinkle a line around your home or where ever you find them. They get all in it and die a slow death.

 

[lizardsmells]

I grew up in the south, I am quite familiar with them!

My dad's solution was to soak the mound in gasoline and set it on fire. Probably not the safest solution.

My solution is to sprinkle dry grits around the mound. The ants eat the grits, drink and explode They also feed them to the Queen, which means the colony will die once she's gone.

I have stepped in more fire ant mounds than I care to count. Nasty little critters!

 

[WharfRat]

No they showed up in Moblie Ala on a lot of lumber from SA.

I stand corrected

some facts I found

The History of Fire Ants and Other Fun Facts - ABC Home and Commercial Services Texas | ABC Home and Commercial Services Texas

 

[DebsFlock]

I fear the grits treatment is actually an urban myth. At least that's what my husband determined upon doing some research. Most of the baits also are taken to the queen and thus kill the colony, but I don't know if they are as effective on fire ants. Fortunately we don't have those out here.

 

[lizardsmells]

Well shoot! I don't know why they left then! I just assumed it was the grits, but maybe they were just annoyed I kept littering around their home

 

[WharfRat]

thought it was corn starch, not grits

 

[19jeffro83]

Apparently cinnamon is a great deterrent. Never tried it myself but aparently if you sprinkle it outside of any entry they use it stops the trails and pasifies them significantly.

 

[henpecked]

try em all and let us know what works

 

[azdesertrhino]

Many years ago when working for the Florida Department of Agriculture the common poison for fire Ants was "Amdro".

Probably poisonous to any living creature also but that is what was used "then"!!

 

[WharfRat]

well, the "war" is on now........they've come back in at least twice even with me treating the outside. My thoughts are the heat here is rendering the spray neutral. I've been googling the poop out of alternatives and the best I can come up with is "orange oil" based which is what I'm already using. I have an outside mound treatment that DOES work but hard to use when you don't see any mounds. (I just mowed last evening)

 

[DebsFlock]

Ugh. Can you make some kind of physical barrier to prevent them getting in? You should be able to contact the manufacturer of the spray and find out if it tends to break down in heat. Good luck!

 

[WharfRat]

Well I just finished spraying the entire perimeter of the house and sprayed the area they're entering from 3 complete times using a spray that always worked well for me in the past. I guess we'll see. I also plan on cleaning all the cages as well, even though I just did them. I hurt my knee pretty bad a couple of months ago...........between mowing & this ARGGGGGG :12:

It's 5 til noon here.........anyone got any JD???? :30:

physical barrier

they're tiny lil things, hard to stop

 

[DebsFlock]

I was thinking like a water moat, that kind of thing.