Help !!! Fire Ants !!!

[JethroB]

As a kid in the early 70’s I remember being on the school playground and watching a plane fly back and forth. When it passed directly overhead we got pelted by fire ant bait granules. (Mirex) It was one of the gov’t’s attempts to eradicate the red fire ant. It didn’t work.

 

[jaxs]

As a kid in the early 70’s I remember being on the school playground and watching a plane fly back and forth. When it passed directly overhead we got pelted by fire ant bait granules. (Mirex) It was one of the gov’t’s attempts to eradicate the red fire ant. It didn’t work.

You are 100% correct but what they did accomplish was almost wiping out Red Harvester ants and countless other creatures. Horned Lizard diet relys on Red Hearvesters so they were nearly destroyed along with Hearvesters. The only reason some escaped is because Fire Ants weren't in Rolling plains so bombers didn't dump as many tons of Mirex out there. In pockets where landowners have acted responsibly Hearvesters and Horned Lizards are slowly reappearing. If you notice a Red Harvester mound protect it because they are natural predators of Fire Ants. When a Fire Ant queen nests near a harvester colony the Hearvesters usually find and kill her before she can establish a colony. In your travels if you come across Red Hs,search the area and you will not see Fire Ants. After government wasted money destroying eco-system they pulled up their drawers and moved out taking funds with them. No study has been done on whether Horned Lizards prey on Fire Ants but it's very possible. I was appalled when EPA first pulled chemicals off shelves. I've come to realized had they not banned Chlordane and other effective products indiscriminate use would have done a lot of harm. If truth be known I'd wager demise of Bob Whites was in part result of the Mirex fiasco.

 

[Torvy]

Possums eat ticks and armadillos eat fire ants, I have to problems with either.

Armadillos eat fire ants like I eat sushi. While technically true, it is not something they typically eat and will eat many other things before ants, especially fire ants.

 

[bmg88201]

You are 100% correct but what they did accomplish was almost wiping out Red Harvester ants and countless other creatures. Horned Lizard diet relys on Red Hearvesters so they were nearly destroyed along with Hearvesters. The only reason some escaped is because Fire Ants weren't in Rolling plains so bombers didn't dump as many tons of Mirex out there. In pockets where landowners have acted responsibly Hearvesters and Horned Lizards are slowly reappearing. If you notice a Red Harvester mound protect it because they are natural predators of Fire Ants. When a Fire Ant queen nests near a harvester colony the Hearvesters usually find and kill her before she can establish a colony. In your travels if you come across Red Hs,search the area and you will not see Fire Ants. After government wasted money destroying eco-system they pulled up their drawers and moved out taking funds with them. No study has been done on whether Horned Lizards prey on Fire Ants but it's very possible. I was appalled when EPA first pulled chemicals off shelves. I've come to realized had they not banned Chlordane and other effective products indiscriminate use would have done a lot of harm. If truth be known I'd wager demise of Bob Whites was in part result of the Mirex fiasco.

When I was a kid growing up in Roswell NM, horned lizards (horny toads) were everywhere. We used to pick‘‘em up and play with them. And there were so many Bob Whites it looked like the ground was moving when a covey moved through the brush. Not any more.

 

[Spike56]

I have used surrender and it worked like a champ. So, no advice really. All other products were too expensive for the number of mounds I have.
Now it COULD be you the product got wet ? I think the directions (long time since I read) said to just sprinkle on top without disturbing the mound. Then I saw comments from others saying to disturb the mound- which I did and got about 100% kill ? Wish I could offer more help….

 

[bmg88201]

Well. I’ll try disturbing the mound and see the effect it has. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Hughman]

My brother showed me how he would stir the mound with a stick, then pour in some gas and throw a match on it. Not sure if it was effective but it was fun to watch.

 

[Baker9713]

We use Orthene with pretty good results

 

[bmg88201]

I have used surrender and it worked like a champ. So, no advice really. All other products were too expensive for the number of mounds I have.
Now it COULD be you the product got wet ? I think the directions (long time since I read) said to just sprinkle on top without disturbing the mound. Then I saw comments from others saying to disturb the mound- which I did and got about 100% kill ? Wish I could offer more help….

I did in fact disturb the mound nd got better kill rate. It did seem to help. Dang fire ants !!!! Geez they hurt like the dickens too.

 

[workinonit]

I spray 3/10 oz per acre of Regent. I spray about 10 acres and haven't seen a fire ant on the whole place in 12 years. If I spray a 1/2 oz i can skip a year maybe 2.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Pour a 50/50 mix of diesel and gas down the mound, then light it. The oily diesel keeps the fuel from flashing up all at once, then burning out fast. The mix will burn slower and for a longer period of time. And it will just burn, not explosively flash up when you light it, so it’s much safer to use.

yes i have done that but it seem like not light it up at all works even better … the fire is superficial above the nest surface since it need oxygen to burn … burning pulls the fume away … not burning it keeps the fumes in longer

 

[lman]

yes i have done that but it seem like not light it up at all works even better … the fire is superficial above the nest surface since it need oxygen to burn … burning pulls the fume away … not burning it keeps the fumes in longer

We don't have any fire ants around here. I always thought it was because we were far enough north. I'm surprised there would be any in northern Ontario.

 

[jyoutz]

We don't have any fire ants around here. I always thought it was because we were far enough north. I'm surprised there would be any in northern Ontario.

I don’t have them either at my 6800’ elevation. But I have used the same technique to get rid of native ants making mounds near buildings.

 

[Rockbadchild]

We don't have any fire ants around here. I always thought it was because we were far enough north. I'm surprised there would be any in northern Ontario.

I don't know if we do, probably not, we do have red ants that bites whether or not they are part of the genus Solenopsis I don't know but probably not... but fire ants or not, none are immune to gas fumes...

 

[oosik]

I still have an old bag of Diazanon. Thin ring around the ant hill does the trick.

 

[EddieWalker]

From what I understand about fire ants, you have to kill the queen to destroy the colony. Just killing a bunch of ants accomplishes nothing. Same thing with termites.

I personally like Orthene from the box stores. https://www.lowes.com/pd/ORTHO-Orthene-12-oz-Fire-Ant-Killer/5013597781

It's a very fine white powder that you just barely sprinkle on the mound. They say the best time is early morning or late evening, when the ants are most active. But it really doesn't seem to matter when you do it, the mound is always dead the next day. The biggest issue with Orthene is the smell. It's horrible!!!!

Usually I do my walk through the yard the day after I mow it. I just deal with areas that I keep mowed. When I see a mound forming, I sprinkle a little Orthene it and it's done. The bright white color of the powder makes it easy to see what mounds I've treated and what mounds are new. Usually in the Spring, there are a lot of them, but by Summer, there will only be a few of them. By the end of Summer, it's rare to see any new mounds.

My wife is finishing up the Master Gardener program with Texas A&M, and they recommend sprinkling Diatomaceous Earth on the mounds. I haven't done that yet, but plan on giving it a try in the Spring when the mounds start to show up.

When I've been bit by fire ants, I've found that for me, Hand Sanitizer works great. I think the alcohol dries out the bite, and that stops the inflammation. I used it during Covid because that's all I had at the time, and I was surprised by the results.