Ant hill?
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Richard
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swiftboot said:
Well, I gotta admit that Mr. Innocent Minded here (my wife would say Mr. Naive
) never thought of that angle.So, presuming you might know, if they planted anything, would they plant seeds or little baby plants? I might go keep an eye out for little splotches of potting soil plugs in the ground. Also, (and I know anyone might do it differently), if someone WAS planting some weeds
, do people tend to plant them near each other, or might they plant one "here" another 50' away kind of thing?If they planted a patch of them, it might be easier to find, as opposed to spreading them out (until they reach a higher height)
Egon
Epic Contributor
One of the members here, Inveresk I believe, also found an ant mound on his property. Turns out the exterminator identified them as beneficial but he did find some carpenter ants in another location.
The plantings that may be would probably best be looked after by the local officials.
The plantings that may be would probably best be looked after by the local officials.
SteelDust
Silver Member
We get ants there that build nests out of fir needles. They can easily make a mound that's 3-4 feet high and 3-4 feet across, comprised entirely of fir needles and forest floor debris.
I've got 2 or 3 mounds on the property. Look for a picture of a "thatch ant" and see if that is what you have.
I've got 2 or 3 mounds on the property. Look for a picture of a "thatch ant" and see if that is what you have.
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Richard
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here's a picture of the mound. I bought some Andro (or something like that) at the co-op and put about 1/2 the tub around the mound. All the ransacking I did the other day with the sapling in the middle, has been fixed!
As for the plants... I contacted the Sheriff's dept today & spoke with a detective. he said they'd come out, or if I found some plants, I could pull them. he said they won't get the helicopter for fly overs until later in summer. Seems they have a couple of choppers and they share across the whole state or something like that.
He said if I found a bunch of plants, I think defined as over 20/30, then he'd PREFER for us to let them put a camera there so they could try to bust the gardeners. I told him I thought we'd be fine with that though I was out of line speaking for my father in law without his knowing it.
The detective said he was told one of our neighbors might be planting plants. Although the family and the sons ARE sort of a "trouble maker" mold, I REALLY REALLY have a hard time seeing them doing that and if they did, I have a hard time seeing them do that on our property. My wifes uncle is somewhat of a grandfather to the two boys and they really think a lot of him. I would expect that the risk of loss of that respect would be enough to keep them from it...then again... when I was 9 years old, I stole a plastic lemon juice thingy from the grocery, so what do I know. Just for the record, I asked mom if I could get it, she said no. I thought it was a squeeze lemonaid thing!! I put it in my pocket. Upon getting home, I went to garage to drink my lemonaid but couldn't open the confounded thing...seems you need a hole punched into it! I went inside and gave it to mom and asked her if she'd open if for me.
Clearly my criminal mind needed more work!~!! She made me go back to the store, march inside and give it back to the manager telling them what I did. I was going to outsmart her and go in, put it back on the shelf where I found it and walk on past the manager. Little did I know that she was going to march inside WITH me
As for the plants... I contacted the Sheriff's dept today & spoke with a detective. he said they'd come out, or if I found some plants, I could pull them. he said they won't get the helicopter for fly overs until later in summer. Seems they have a couple of choppers and they share across the whole state or something like that.
He said if I found a bunch of plants, I think defined as over 20/30, then he'd PREFER for us to let them put a camera there so they could try to bust the gardeners. I told him I thought we'd be fine with that though I was out of line speaking for my father in law without his knowing it.
The detective said he was told one of our neighbors might be planting plants. Although the family and the sons ARE sort of a "trouble maker" mold, I REALLY REALLY have a hard time seeing them doing that and if they did, I have a hard time seeing them do that on our property. My wifes uncle is somewhat of a grandfather to the two boys and they really think a lot of him. I would expect that the risk of loss of that respect would be enough to keep them from it...then again... when I was 9 years old, I stole a plastic lemon juice thingy from the grocery, so what do I know. Just for the record, I asked mom if I could get it, she said no. I thought it was a squeeze lemonaid thing!! I put it in my pocket. Upon getting home, I went to garage to drink my lemonaid but couldn't open the confounded thing...seems you need a hole punched into it! I went inside and gave it to mom and asked her if she'd open if for me.
Clearly my criminal mind needed more work!~!!
She made me go back to the store, march inside and give it back to the manager telling them what I did. I was going to outsmart her and go in, put it back on the shelf where I found it and walk on past the manager. Little did I know that she was going to march inside WITH me Attachments
RollTideRam
Veteran Member
If you want to be sure if they are fire ants, pick up one. I can't believe they have made it to Knoxville. I'm not sure when they first arrived in Mobile, we have been battling them in North Alabama for years. I usually spend 50$ a year on poison to keep them down on my land. They are mean and you have to watch them. If you get in them and don't know it, they will hurt you. It seems like they don't bite until several get on you then they all attack. JC
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Richard
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RollTideRam said:
I've heard others say that same thing...almost like they wait until they can see the whites of your eyes, then ambush you
Side question: Regardless of the kind of ant they are, I put the Amdro down and suppose that will kill most of them, perhaps all if I'm lucky.
If in fact, it kills them all and the mound "dies", how does one tell it's dead absent disecting the mound apart at the risk of a rush of them attacking you?
My guess is, since they maintain the mound, if the mound were to die, it would wither away in a rainstorm or wither away over time and sort of "deflate" for lack of better word. Conjecture on my part, anyone know?
Richard -
I'm not so sure the ants actually die from the Amdro. I think all I do is just move the ants from my yard to my neighbors :O
You will know if they are gone - toss a rock in the center of the mound - no action - they are gone
I'm not so sure the ants actually die from the Amdro. I think all I do is just move the ants from my yard to my neighbors :O
You will know if they are gone - toss a rock in the center of the mound - no action - they are gone
MSWoodlot
Member
If they were "fire ants", Amdro should do them in at that mound. Your instinct about what to expect is correct. After a good rain, the mound will flatten out and there should be no further activity to rebuild that mound. But, keep your eyes open for other mounds because it's highly unlikely that the mound you treated is the only one. Once fire ants invade, they are hard to eradicate.
MSWoodlot
MSWoodlot
wushaw
Elite Member
MSWoodlot said:
Hard to eradicate...I would say completely impossible, all one can hope for is a stalemate if one keeps treating the mounds.
