BERIGAN Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) Besides lighting gasoline poured down the hill??? I have tried several products, Ortho last year..something you spread around the mound, but don't put water on, and something this year Ace Hardware had(forget the name, used it all up) that was supposedly 25% more powerful than ever...I think it was actually fire ant food, as I now see more ant hills than ever! So, surely someone here has found the key to the death of this nasty creatures??? Surely???? Edited June 3, 2009 by BERIGAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Any type of ant is a problem because if you don't get to the queen, they will just keep on going. In other words is you spray and kill the ants you see, but the ones under the ground survive including the queen, they will typically just move a few feet over and continue as if nothing happened. Amdro is the best product that I know of. Just sprinkle it around the hill. Keep in mind it is a bait, so they must eat it and carry it to the queen. Don't expect to see them dropping dead before your eyes but rather expect them to be disappearing little by little. They also make a version that you can spread in your yard like fertilizer. I recommend doing that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Clugston Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I use sugar spiked with a little bit of borax for carpenter ants. Not sure if that'll get fire ants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Amdro worked for me in Louisiana the first year. The second year, not so well. I don't know if the ants were developing a resistance or if they changed the formula to something "safer", but it just didn't seem to be as effective the second year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I have those fuckers in my home, have not found the queen or the nest yet but i have stopped them with good effectiveness using this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Ortho used to make some dust that was lethal, but it stunk to high hell and when you dug up the dirt five years later, the dirt still stunk like it, so...no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Eat 'em as fast as you can. Then pour gas on your poop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Eat 'em as fast as you can. Then pour gas on your poop. You're talking about hot wings, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Eat 'em as fast as you can. Then pour gas on your poop. You're talking about hot wings, right? never eat hot wings. they don't even let chickens fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've had the best success using instant grits. No shit. I know I've been hit by fire ants more times than I can count, but they don't bother me. I can walk barefoot right through poison ivy, dig through the leaves, scratch my face, and nothing. On the other hand, I walk outside and every mosquito/no-see-um in the neighborhood finds my ankles. My wife gets hit by fire ants once every summer. Her foot swells up, pusses, scabs, etc. We spread instant grits all over the mound, the workers take them down the hole, and they disappear. Worth a shot. I couldn't believe it when I was told that was the fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 They're there for a reason. Get rid of that reason and then you won't have to kill them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I don't know... if fire ants are here for a reason, then whatever they are here for is probably here for a reason as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I'm not talking about globally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papsrus Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Those things are nasty. Sting like lit match heads (or what I imagine lit match heads must feel like). The Amdro worked for me. We used to get 'em out in the yard. They seem to like hot, dry areas of the yard. I live in a well-shaded area now and haven't seen any at all. If the Amdro fails, consider getting an Aardvark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've had the best success using instant grits. No shit. I believe it; instant grits would kill any true Southerner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I could never figure out what instant grits were good for! The theory is that the grit absorbs moisture as the ants take them down to the queen. As they absorb moisture, and the ants are eating (including the queen), the grit expands to a size that the ant's body cannot handle. They die. Now your soil has dead ants and grits added to it instead of a synthetic and harmful chemical. Stone Ground Grits would not work because they take much longer to expand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownian Motion Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 1. Put their little heads between your thumbnail and your forefinger. 2. Pinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've had the best success using instant grits. No shit. I believe it; instant grits would kill any true Southerner... hehe, that reminds me of the movie "My Cousin Vinny". Vinny Gambini: Eggs and grits. I like grits, too. How do you cook your grits? Do you like them regular, creamy or al dente? Mr. Tipton: Just regular I guess. Vinny Gambini: Regular. Instant grits? Mr. Tipton: No self respectin' Southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 My mother swears Malt-O-Meal works -- the ants eat it, it swells in the belly, ruptured digestive track, done. The efficacy of this remedy has not been confirmed, however. Also, if you'd rather avoid chemical pesticides... http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 thanks for all the suggestions! Jim, the Ortho I used last year(or was it Amdro-is Amdro what Mark McGuire got busted for using? ) Really, really stunk up the yard. Put it on during the worst part of the drought here, didn't rain for a month. Something that nasty, should have worked. I will try some grits or malt o meal. I also saw some of the ants by a large hill, and saw they were not fire ants! Wonder if non fire ants are killed by fire ant killer??? Some interesting facts on ants in that link Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 thanks for all the suggestions! Jim, the Ortho I used last year(or was it Amdro-is Amdro what Mark McGuire got busted for using? ) Really, really stunk up the yard. Put it on during the worst part of the drought here, didn't rain for a month. Something that nasty, should have worked. I will try some grits or malt o meal. I also saw some of the ants by a large hill, and saw they were not fire ants! Wonder if non fire ants are killed by fire ant killer??? Some interesting facts on ants in that link Joe. If it stinks, it's not Amdro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Fire ants...yet another reason to live in the Northeast! Our ants don't bite at all. They just eat your house... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardbopjazz Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 (edited) Maybe the local zoo can lend out an anteater and that could do the trick. Seriously, I saw a infomercial called Haley's Helpful Hints, and he said to try putting coffee grinds where the ants are getting into your home. He even offers a DVD Hints Edited June 4, 2009 by Hardbopjazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 They're there for a reason. Get rid of that reason and then you won't have to kill them. A little more effort and you'd have a haiku! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I'm not sure how to break this to you, but recent entomological affiliation studies have shown that 99% of all fire ants are Democrats. Up over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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