fire ants

[JakeBrake]

Fire ants are easy to kill, but no matter how many you kill, there are plenty more to take their place.

We had a dry summer and the fire ants hunkered down. However, after Tropical Storm Lee passed through a couple of weeks ago and dropped 11" of rain at my place, the fire ant hills are everywhere.

Floods don't bother fire ants. They form into a mass and float on the surface.

 

[BigBoyinMS]

Something that worked for me a few times, temporarily anyway. It seems that each mound is independent and the ants can differentiate it's own mound mates from others and they will fight strangers to the death. I used to stir up and take a shovelful of mound and ants from one mound and mix it with another and then vice versa. The next day all you would see is piles of dead ants and very few living. And I think the few remaining would abandon their mound.

 

[Bird]

Something that worked for me a few times, temporarily anyway. It seems that each mound is independent and the ants can differentiate it's own mound mates from others and they will fight strangers to the death. I used to stir up and take a shovelful of mound and ants from one mound and mix it with another and then vice versa. The next day all you would see is piles of dead ants and very few living. And I think the few remaining would abandon their mound.

I've heard that worked years ago, but not in the last few years, but I don't know that to be a fact; never tried it myself.

 

[Bird]

Fire ants are easy to kill, but no matter how many you kill, there are plenty more to take their place.

We had a dry summer and the fire ants hunkered down. However, after Tropical Storm Lee passed through a couple of weeks ago and dropped 11" of rain at my place, the fire ant hills are everywhere.

Floods don't bother fire ants. They form into a mass and float on the surface.

It used to be common for the creek just below our house to flood every Spring, so I've seen lots of those masses of floating fire ants.

But I don't really understand why, without any flood, water make them show up. On the 3 acres I treated down in the country, you'd swear there wasn't a fire ant around, but just an inch or so of rain, and I knew there'd be a minimum of 10-12 new mounds pop up.

And here in town . . . well, I mentioned earlier that I got stung on the 16th of this month; just one mound and I treated it. So when I mowed on the 24th, not a fire ant to be found. Then I watered pretty heavily the 25th and 26th and this morning, a big mound in the back yard. I do know that the neighbors on either side of me do nothing about the fire ants in their yards.

 

[geneP]

inappropriate chemical in post

 

[geneP]

edited original post

 

[jcummins]

In the late 80's corporate transfer took me to near Houston. I learn real quick...you couldn't sit on the ground. Now retired, and moved back to extreme southern Illinois. Gotta tell ya....it's nice to be able to sit on the ground again.

Amdro was my choice of fire ant control. But no matter what you use...you've got to do it repeatedly to even semi-close get any control.

 

[tallyho8]

You think the fire ants are bad? Look at these.Hairy, crazy ants invade from Texas to Mississippi | NOLA.com They are our next invaders.

 

[heehaw]

have to admit, i was surprised at what the amdro cost...$18 for the container..the local co-op was the only place in town that had anything for fire ants..TS said they "had" something for 3 years, an never sold any of it, so they quit handling it, maybe they should check their prices??? WM and Lowes both had nothing...could be its the wrong time of year for them??
heehaw

 

[Bird]

have to admit, i was surprised at what the amdro cost...$18 for the container..the local co-op was the only place in town that had anything for fire ants..TS said they "had" something for 3 years, an never sold any of it, so they quit handling it, maybe they should check their prices??? WM and Lowes both had nothing...could be its the wrong time of year for them??
heehaw

I might be wrong, but I think Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, and no telling how many other places have an assortment of fire ant killers year round here.

 

[RobertBrown]

Fire ants are easy to kill, but no matter how many you kill, there are plenty more to take their place.

We had a dry summer and the fire ants hunkered down. However, after Tropical Storm Lee passed through a couple of weeks ago and dropped 11" of rain at my place, the fire ant hills are everywhere.

Floods don't bother fire ants. They form into a mass and float on the surface.

That's when you get your carb cleaner out and lay waste to em

 

[AirForceIP]

Boiling water kills them by the hundreds (or maybe thousands). Couple of metal buckets of boiling water, and the mound disappears.

 

[clemsonfor]

I live here in SC, you will never get rid of them. All you can hope is to kill them out till new ones move in. Get the Ortho season long stuff. It works! It says it only lasts 6 months ( i find really more like 4) where in a cooler climate that would be all season till they go under ground for winter, but here there active pretty much all year or maybe 10 months or so. You really need to do it twice a year to cover well. You will still get small moundds from time to time that you can spot treat but overall it works. I got spectracide this year to try and it is junk for the season long stuff!