Ants interupting my project.

[Rio_Grande]

NS the dang things float. We have one by the creek and used a pressure washer on the mound,,, they band together like a raft and float.


We will keep applying the poison. We are going to work on roads and firewood this weekend. Thought about digging them up with the track loader..

 

[the old grind]

Fipronil-based indoor baits are very effective but risky, and recent news suggests that carryover can be harmful to pets or plants when used outdoors. Bifen(thrin) is another that workers will take to the queen. See post #9. :thumbsup:

Digging them up with FEL or BH would be a "Pandora's box" thing & I wouldn't dream of trying it. Wear muck boots or track shoes no matter what you use. We don't have fire ants up here in MI, but there are plenty of other pests and these are my 'go to' guys for supplies and info.

Fire Ant Treatment | Do It Yourself Pest Control

:2cents:

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have a much better idea

Casting a Fire Ant Colony with Molten Aluminum (Cast #043) - YouTube


Or if you think it is bigger

Giant Ant Hill Excavated - YouTube

 

[TCowner]

All of this talk about fire ants leads me to believe that the cold winters of the north aren't a bad trade off.

 

[NS Gearhead]

All of this talk about fire ants leads me to believe that the cold winters of the north aren't a bad trade off.

You got that right!

That first vid of the molten alum was very cool! I wonder if boiling water would have the same effect of killing them off?

 

[Deere Dude]

The key to killing ants is to do a broadcast treatment instead of treating individual mounds. If you treat just the mounds, new mounds will form in a few days because there are always some 'less active' mounds in the area that you don't see.

Talstar (bifenthrin) is a good product to use for broadcast treatments. It is fairly inexpensive and is safe for pets and humans. And it works quickly, within a day or so. It helps to water it in after application, or spread it just before a light rain. It is also better to apply when the ants are active, which us usually in the morning or late afternoon. However, it does kill many other insects. (such as worms, mosquitoes, fleas, etc.)

There are many baits available and they work very well. Baits are more specific to ants and will not kill other insects. However, baits can take a long time to kill the mounds, because the bait (poison) is taken to the queen. She dies and then the workers slowly die off. This can take 4-6 weeks.

Again, the key is to treat the entire area, and the larger area you treat, the longer it will take for the ants to re-invade.

And, as always, be sure to read and follow the label before using any pesticide.

X2
We have fire ants and have treated individual hills with Amdro but had limited success. It kills the hills right away but they pop up someplace else.

Get a boom type sprayer and spray your building area and wherever you don't want ants and bugs with bifenthrin. That works good with carpenter bees and ants and any almost any kind of bug that crawls of flies.

I got a couple gallons of Bifen IT and I am sold on it. I mix 1oz/gallon and spray where ever I don't want spiders of bugs. My newer property had spiders, fire ants, carpenter bees etc. I sprayed the whole inside of the barn, around shutters and windows on the house, porch, deck, bushes and lawn for 100' around the buildings. I got it mostly for termites (we don't have any) but every other bug either died or went someplace else.

 

[Rio_Grande]

Nice videos, those ants are tiny, mine are about 1/4 inch long. I think this weekend we are going to rake the tops off the mounds and use the weed burner on them. I am clearing the area again to prepare for the building we are putting up. Once we have it cleared I will spread some granular killer.

Do you think the granular 7 will work? It is cheap and goes a long way.

 

[Spindifferent]

I wonder if boiling water would have the same effect of killing them off?

Yes, it will.

 

[oosik]

I have ants - but no fire ants. I spread a 3-5 foot wide circle of Decon around any ant hill I want to put down. Gone & gone.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Nice videos, those ants are tiny, mine are about 1/4 inch long. I think this weekend we are going to rake the tops off the mounds and use the weed burner on them. I am clearing the area again to prepare for the building we are putting up. Once we have it cleared I will spread some granular killer.

Do you think the granular 7 will work? It is cheap and goes a long way.

Raking the tops off an burning will not kill the queen, therefore will not kill the colony. And I don't think the granular Sevin will work as well as granular bifenthrin. Bifenthrin is cheap and readily available at most feed stores, farm and garden stores, and you can probably find it at big box stores too.

And you will have to cover the entire area you want to treat, not just the mounds.

And, as always, read and follow the label before using any pesticide.