Large Ant Hills

[Wil]

Use Vinegar right away on those Fire ant stings/bites and it will keep them from blistering up. My Dad lives in Texas and passed this info on to me the other week. It definitly works, but you need to do it right away and use plenty. The down side is the lingering smell of the vinegar.
We have a native fire ant here in Arizona (according to our County agent), they don't build the large hills that the invading ones do but their sting is quite nasty and will blister also.

 

[cstocks]

I am not bothered by the smell of vinegar. Better to smell like a salad than to endure the pain of an ant bite./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[stmiller2]

Give them time -- they could well show up in Washington State. Although California is trying to eradicate its imported fire ant infestations, some think the eradication efforts will fail.

Survey research here in SC shows that households spend an average of $80 per household per year on imported fire ant control and remediation (insecticides, electrical repairs, other repairs, medical expenses, etc.). The estimated costs are even higher in Texas metropolitan areas -- $151 per household per year.

Many people don't realize the damage the imported fire ants cause to wildlife, especially reptiles and ground-nesting birds.

The imported fire ants have been blamed for decreases in the quail population in the Southeast.

 

[Bird]

Interesting numbers, Steve, but I do wonder about <font color=blue>Texas metropolitan areas -- $151 per household per year</font color=blue> and just what they mean by that. When I lived in Dallas (been 14 years ago, of course) on a 62' x 110' lot, I never had any fire ants, but I did spray the lawn and under the eaves of the house once or twice annually with Diazinon or Malathion to keep wasps and yellow jackets from building nests and to, hopefully, prevent lawn insects.

And when I bought this 10 acres nearly 8 years ago, it was overrun by fire ants and took awhile to get control. I don't do anything with the pasture (approx. 7 acres), but around the house, barn, shop building, lawn, etc. (approx. 3 acres), I spread Logic once, and sometimes twice, a year (1 pound per acre or 3 pounds at a time at a cost of $9 per pound or $27). However, this year I used Extinguish which seems to work just as well and only cost $8 a pound. The rest of the time, anytime I see a fire ant mound, I pour a gallon of water on it, mixed with 1 ounce of 44% Diazinon. Of course, I also spray Diazinon in and around the shop and barn and around the house, so I use about a gallon a year at a cost of about $40 a gallon.

In other words, I'd say your research for SC is not much different from what I'm doing out here in the country, but your <font color=blue>Texas metropolitan areas -- $151 per household per year</font color=blue> is a lot higher than what I did in town.

 

[BB_TX]

We used to have the large red ants around here (N TX) but don't see many any more. From what I have read, the much smaller more agressive fire ants have all but killed off the larger ants. I do much the same as Bird except that I use Amdro. I broadcast 1 pound of Amdro per acre in the spring. That takes care of most of the fire ants. Then I sprinkle a little Amdro on a mound when I see one pop up. I have had good luck with this approach. I don't know if Amdro works for the big red ants though.

 

[Bird]

Bill, when I was a kid those big red ants were common, and like you, I've read that the fire ants have almost wiped them out. The only ones I've seen in several years are on the Connolly golf course in Waco; don't know why they still have them.

 

[DavidInNH]

I used to get very good results from Amdro. IIRC, the active ingredient is deployed on corn meal base. The workers pick it up as food and deliver it to the queen. Like Roundup, it takes a little longer to show results, but it gets to the root of the problem.

I really hope those guys aren't getting more cold hardy - I really don't miss red ants or roaches.

 

[stmiller2]

Bird,

The estimated dollar values I reported include both treatment costs (baits, mound treatments) and costs incurred in repairing damage caused by the fire ants. The property damage costs included costs to repair or replace electrical switches and equipment (e.g., well pumps, air conditioner compressors) damaged by the ants, repairs to hardscape (e..g. sidewalks, patios) undermined by the fire ant tunnels, and medical and vet expenses due to fire ant stings.

 

[Bird]

That explains it, Steve. I've not had such problems myself, but have known some folks, including friends and neighbors, who have had the fire ants get into electrical switch or junction boxes and do some damage; one who had his air-conditioning go out twice due to fire ants.

 

[RFischer]

There were 2 products suggested here. One was AMDROSE and the other was Amdro. Are these different or the same product with a different slang? As far as I can determine the ants I have are not fire ants just large red ones. Where is the best place to buy these products?