10 acres and tons of ant mounds

[prichard]

Rear window?

 

[katoomed00]

We had an invasion of Raspberry Crazy Ants that got rid of all the Fire Ants on the property. My exterminator informed me that the Crazy Ants will eat up all the food therefore causing the Fire Ants to move.
Now the bad thing about the Crazy Ants is that they get everywhere. During the rainy season they will invade your home (inside and out). Good thing they don't bite and normally they do not crawl on people.
I am proactive about spraying around the house using Fipronil which does an excellent job.
I don't mind the Raspberry Crazy Ant as long as they stay away from the house and keep the Fire Ant population in check.

 

[prichard]

DDT...oh wait, they got rid of that. I put the ant powder on those dang fireants and they just move over a few feet and start another mound. I hate fireants. I live way out in the sticks and no neighbors so my boys, when young, would peez on every mound in sight....lol Taught them well....maybe too well. One time when we went to visit grandma, when we got out of the car...my youngest (about 4 then) started whipping it out to pee in the front yard. Just narrowly avoided an embarrassing moment with all the neighbors watching there. :ashamed: I don't see the problem with letting a homeowner that would just use a little of the DDT a year, being able to get rid of the fireants? I think it was farmers using massive amounts of that stuff for their fields and such that caused the bad stuff into the water/fish/birds. Please correct me if I am wrong on that account? When I was a kid, we would only use maybe a half of a small container per year and it would get rid of those dang things quick.

BTW, the fireants are not supposed to be up here in the US. They got here from a long time back when big ships were transporting goods from here to South America and then back. They used dirt as ballast on the return and then dumped that here when loading more goods. Of course the fireants took off because they have no natural enemy here....cue the anteaters and such.

The issue is they have escape routes. In fact, the workers only leave the mound via remote tunnels often several feet away from the mound. Poison has to encircle the mound out a few feet, then on top.

 

[Atchuuu]

Right. Natural product that basically gets in their joints and cuts the ants and they dehydrate. Non poisonous like you say. You can put a plank or something over the ant hill to keep the rain off or use it in the dry season.
How to Use Diatomaceous Earth for Organic Pest Control | MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Diametceous earth is the answer. Comes in 50# bags at the farm store. Liberally spread over and around each mound. Renew rain and keep loose and powdery. I wiped out 10 mounds in 30 days even in our rainy weather. It also works good for slugs, snails and other creepy crawlers. Cheap and not poisonous.

Ron

So the extension office, ant expert, called me back today. He said Amdro is the recommended treatment 3 times a year. I commented on the cost and asked where to get Amdro in bulk. He said he was not aware of any CO-OP and recommended Home Depot or Tractor Supply. :thumbdown:

I asked about diametceous earth and he was aware of the effect it has on pests but said he does not recommend it for fire ants and isn't aware of any publications that support its use for ants.

Was hopping for more expert advice from the ant expert. May try the diametceous anyway.

 

[goeduck]

We had an invasion of Raspberry Crazy Ants that got rid of all the Fire Ants on the property. My exterminator informed me that the Crazy Ants will eat up all the food therefore causing the Fire Ants to move.
Now the bad thing about the Crazy Ants is that they get everywhere. During the rainy season they will invade your home (inside and out). Good thing they don't bite and normally they do not crawl on people.
I am proactive about spraying around the house using Fipronil which does an excellent job.
I don't mind the Raspberry Crazy Ant as long as they stay away from the house and keep the Fire Ant population in check.

Are you sure crazy ants are not worse than fire ants? Are fire ants crazy enough to invade your house?

 

[AchingBack]

I read, the combined weight of all of earth's ants, is equal in weight to all humans combined.

 

[goeduck]

I read, the combined weight of all of earth's ants, is equal in weight to all humans combined.

And the worlds spiders eat the equivalent of all the humans on earth every year. How creepy is that?

Spiders could theoretically eat every human on Earth in one year - The Washington Post

 

[Tractor Seabee]

So the extension office, ant expert, called me back today. He said Amdro is the recommended treatment 3 times a year. I commented on the cost and asked where to get Amdro in bulk. He said he was not aware of any CO-OP and recommended Home Depot or Tractor Supply. :thumbdown:

I asked about diametceous earth and he was aware of the effect it has on pests but said he does not recommend it for fire ants and isn't aware of any publications that support its use for ants.

Was hopping for more expert advice from the ant expert. May try the diametceous anyway.

I was led into the DE by the manager at Dels Farm Store (owned by TSC) and he indicated his info came from the WA State University AG Department.

Some times the simplest solutions are overlooked by those set on finding the new silver bullet or protecting industry. I have used DE on many types of ants, including fire ants, termites, and carpenter ants. I have heard both that it fouls up their joints and that it clogs their intestines. On slugs/snails it slices up their mucous membranes. DE is sharp granules of rock.

Ron

 

[Texasmark]

Diametceous earth is the answer. Comes in 50# bags at the farm store. Liberally spread over and around each mound. Renew rain and keep loose and powdery. I wiped out 10 mounds in 30 days even in our rainy weather. It also works good for slugs, snails and other creepy crawlers. Cheap and not poisonous.

Ron

Interesting. Any idea as to the killing mechanism?

 

[Texasmark]

I was led into the DE by the manager at Dels Farm Store (owned by TSC) and he indicated his info came from the WA State University AG Department.

Some times the simplest solutions are overlooked by those set on finding the new silver bullet or protecting industry. I have used DE on many types of ants, including fire ants, termites, and carpenter ants. I have heard both that it fouls up their joints and that it clogs their intestines. On slugs/snails it slices up their mucous membranes. DE is sharp granules of rock.

Ron

When receiving advice, the first thing I do is to question the source (mentally) and the reasons for the answers.....especially if the source has something to sell contrary to my current aspirations! This includes taboo topics like religion or politics and views of such.