Killing Ants

[Bird]

Podunk, you're not the only one to have done that, although I wouldn't recommend it. Of course you don't have to light the gasoline for the fire ants either. The gas fumes will kill that mound. I know a fellow who did that to a big red ant mound across the road from his own property many years ago. It burned off 3 acres and both the property owner and the fire department were not happy with him.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I can't remember my chemistry but I remember my buddy's grandpa using some fast evaporating chemical that was heavier than air. It would quickly sink and displace the oxygen in the nest. Probably illegal stuff. I think he said a cup of fluid per mound did the trick.

Anyone remember their chemistry for a suitable substance?

 

[Bird]

Kyle, when I was a kid, there was a linament called HiLife (I'm not sure of the spelling). If you rubbed it on your skin, it felt very warm, but my Dad bought it for another purpose. If you poured a bit on an animal with fur, it wouldn't harm them, but they'd think they were on fire, so just a tiny bit poured on a stray dog or cat and they'd be gone in a hurry, running, laying down to roll, etc., and never return. And I'll never forget my Dad pouring some on a stray horse that showed up and got into the chicken house to eat the chickens' grain. Of course Dad got the horse outside before pouring some HiLife on it. It whirled and kicked at him with both hind feet; it's a wonder he was able to dodge the kick and not get seriously hurt. But then that horse took off down the dirt road we lived on. It would run, lay down and roll on its back, get up and run again and kept repeating that procedure until it was out of sight.

And now I've strayed from my main point. We didn't have fire ants back then, but did sometimes have the big red ants that make a big gravel looking mound with a single hole right in the middle. For reasons unknown to me, they'd all be inside at noon. So we'd just turn a bottle of HiLife upside down on that one hole right around noon, let it all run in, then have a shovel full of dirt ready to dump on the entry hole when we removed the bottle. That would eliminate the whole colony.

 

[tallyho8]

I sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of Orthene on each fire ant mound. I usually have about 30 mounds per acre. Go back in two days and they are all dead. Go back 3 days after that and there are about 15 new mounds per acre unless you have had a heavy rain and then there are about 30 new mounds per acre.

 

[tallyho8]

Bird, I remember some coon hunters using the High Lye about 25 years ago. When their dogs would go after an armadillo instead of a coon, they used to sprinkle it on the dogs rear while he was in the armadillo hole. They claimed the dogs would never go in an armadillo hole again.

 

[Bird]

I hadn't heard of using it on coon dogs like that, but I can see how it might work.

 

[J_J]

I was told this by an old timer, and I am sort of old myself. To kill ants, don't know which kind, mix some syrup and yeast and pour it on the mound or where the ants are. In theory, they will eat the mix and swell up and die. Might be true.

I have also heard that ants have several queens on stand by, and if the main queen dies, they wake up the next queen in line and tell her to get her butt busy producing. Sounds logical, once you think you have killed the mound, several more pop up.

I have also thought of electrocuting those fire ants, by using a large neon sign transformer. It will draw a 3 in arc.

For yellow jackets, I got stung bad one time and I swore vengeance. What I did was to get one of those large bug zappers, and hook it to a long pvc pole, plug it in, and placing it by the nest and jiggle it a little bit. It was something to watch. The first one that gets killed, gives off a scent and the others go to that scent to help attack. Guess what, they attacked the bug zapper, and it smoked ever one of those little bas####.

 

[MississippiMan]

For yellow jackets, I got stung bad one time and I swore vengeance. What I did was to get one of those large bug zappers, and hook it to a long pvc pole, plug it in, and placing it by the nest and jiggle it a little bit. It was something to watch. The first one that gets killed, gives off a scent and the others go to that scent to help attack. Guess what, they attacked the bug zapper, and it smoked ever one of those little bas####.

great idea!

 

[Soundguy]

Ditto.. it's horrible for the environment.

Dropping some moth balls down those holes would work and be safer the 'operator'.. as well as mother nature..

soundguy

Podunk, you're not the only one to have done that, although I wouldn't recommend it. Of course you don't have to light the gasoline for the fire ants either. The gas fumes will kill that mound. I know a fellow who did that to a big red ant mound across the road from his own property many years ago. It burned off 3 acres and both the property owner and the fire department were not happy with him.

 

[3RRL]

How about a pet Anteater?
Giant Anteater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[heehaw]

i spent a little time yesterday, finally spraying bifen IT around the outside of my house: so hopefully, if it works as well as folks have told me, we should see a difference in the ants and spiders/spider webs around the house..had to catch a day when no GRANDkids were around and the wind was calm.
heehaw

 

[LMTC]

It will kill any trying to enter your house, but not those already inside. An exterminator will spray inside too, and there is a dilution of that product that is relatively safe in living areas.

 

[heehaw]

"It will kill any trying to enter your house, but not those already inside. An exterminator will spray inside too, and there is a dilution of that product that is relatively safe in living areas"

i may spray inside later: but i think i need to remove a few of the vents in the soffit, an spray inside that area: thats where the ants go to when they get behind the siding: the other option is to drill small holes in the siding ever 5-6 ft and spray behind that way. that would get rid of the nest they have made behind the siding and would probably solve the problem.
heehaw

 

[Richard]

I can't remember my chemistry but I remember my buddy's grandpa using some fast evaporating chemical that was heavier than air. It would quickly sink and displace the oxygen in the nest. Probably illegal stuff. I think he said a cup of fluid per mound did the trick.

Anyone remember their chemistry for a suitable substance?

I've wondered about that and wondered if a block of dry ice would do anything? As I recall, as it sublimates (converts from solid to gas) it might sink / soak into their mound and possibly suffocate them?

Here's something I found on a website though its intent is for human breathing

"The sublimated Carbon Dioxide gas will sink to low areas and replace oxygenated air. This could cause suffocation if breathed exclusively"

Any thoughts?

 

[cisco]

Used all sorts of stuff, over the years (27) in S.C., and diazonium was great, but you can't get it now. Amdro works, albeit slowly, and some mounds just don't seem to respond. As mentioned by prior poster, "Once and Done" is effective, and also expensive. It is very easy to use. Sprinkle it lightly around a mound (try not to disturb the occupants), and walk away. A few days later - ants are history. It also seems, as advertised, to suppress ants in that immediate area for a few months.