FIRE ANTS; HELP

[eddie.saw]

hey guys, i planted a garden just the other day, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, etc...

Anyway, after a hot day I was in the garden giving the babies a much needed watering and as I was in there feel a sting and look down to see around a dozen ants on my foot and sandle.

So I'm wondering what you guys would suggest to get rid of these little assholes without having to go the chemical pesticide route.

Thanks guys ;joint:

 

[MIway]

never tried killing outside ants, but diatomaceous earth would be my first guess

 

[lost in a sea]

two options i can see, you can get a fire ant bait that uses spinosad which is a compound used by a bacterium so its natural and may get rid of them altogether,, or if you find their mound you can disrupt them to the point that they move home but they may head for your house which is risky,, you can do this by flooding the mound two or three times a day until you dont see them anymore..

 

[eddie.saw]

Thanks guys, i haven't found three mound after looking through the garden.

So my plan is to get some traps and hope for the best, i haven't seen any these past couple days while i watered, hopefully they picked up and moved after smelling the death of their brothers and sisters. Lol

 

[Al Botross]

tradition is gas then light them on fire

 

[onlychild]

I'm under the impression they don't like molasses at all. tried a feeding of the area with that, good luck!

 

[lost in a sea]

molasses will make em move as well.. they like sterile soil and it encourages microorganisms that attack ants during their lifecycle.. a healthier soil in that way will keep them out long term..

 

[eddie.saw]

Awesome, thanks guys, I'll pick up some molasses tomorrow but as i've been in the garden lately I still have yet to see them again.

My garden in a a small 4'x14' and when i removed the sod and first four to five inches of the native soil (mostly clay) and added, 80 lbs of compost and 80lbs of topsoil, then a few cups of of wood ash.

As I removing the soil, i encountered the ants and got what I could into a bucket as far away from the garden as possible, I knew there would be some I could get but I'm hoping the molasses will get the rest..

Anything you guys would like to add that my garden would benefit my garden please feel free to share. All input is welcome

 

[Payaso]

Ants don't like 20 Mule Team Borax... it works great for most ants... and is non-toxic to most other things. Make a trap with 50/50 white sugar and borax... with enough water to make it pasty... then put it near the nest or trail and they'll eat it and bring it back to the queen and zap kill the whole nest dead.

Cheap and also whitens your laundry quite well for pennies a load!

 

[Payaso]

Not boric acid. That's for cockroaches.

 

[noyd666]

we use a mix of boric acid, and it kills inchmen ants.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

Dry oatmeal. They eat it and swell up and burst when the drink. They take it to the nest and they all eat it.

 

[Storm Shadow]

Spinosad destroys fire ants...soak the mound and watch them drown

 

[siftedunity]

why would you wanna kill them? wouldn't the ants eat insects which would otherwise eat your plants?

 

[Storm Shadow]

If your plants roots are in the way of their tunnels ...they will remove whatever is there to clear the path... I found this out recently at my outdoor spot...fuckers even stripped the bottom of the stem ... scalped it clean...

Conserve SC The Real Spinosad... is some of the best shit out there for these Bastards

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Ants don't like 20 Mule Team Borax... it works great for most ants... and is non-toxic to most other things. Make a trap with 50/50 white sugar and borax... with enough water to make it pasty... then put it near the nest or trail and they'll eat it and bring it back to the queen and zap kill the whole nest dead.

Cheap and also whitens your laundry quite well for pennies a load!

20 Mule Team Borax! Yesterday a huge swarm of little black ants covered my back porch and started moving into the walls of my house. I walked down to the corner hardware store and bought several bottles of Terro Liquid Ant Bait which works great on these little sweet loving insects. Paid like seven bucks for each little squeeze bottle. I'm looking at this $7 container and thinking that it probably costs less than a quarter to produce, packaging and all. And now I read this. I'm buying some borax. I've bought a borax solution for termites also. The manufacturer claims it helps prevent wood rot too.

 

[KONY]

corn meal for organic fire ant control. Water the yard or garden a few days after applying the corn meal

 

[Tonygreen]

cayenne pepper

 

[AzGrOw-N-sMoKe]

Before all you fire antfighters think you got a leg up... watch this documentary... Az

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ojiv4Eksb4

 

[lost in a sea]

Dry oatmeal. They eat it and swell up and burst when the drink. They take it to the nest and they all eat it.

ants don't eat solid foods, the pupae regurgitate the food taken to them back to the ants..