Stinging ants, fire ants

[Whitworth]

I've had an outbreak of fire ants in the yard, about a dozen mounds cropping up in a short time.

I had a couple mounds in early spring, treated them with Sevin. Now, after some heavy rains I'm seeing them all over the place.

Problem number 1 is hitting the mounds with the lawn mower. Problem number two is they look like ****. Problem three is they sting.

Usually I like to get along with nature, but this summer it'll be Death to fire ants.

 

[PelicanPines]

Carefully... gas... match... plow or box blade.

I would drag a box blade ... flatten everything after the fire.

 

[ransil]

Shop at DIY pest control they have stuff to kill them

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[Captin Hazlewood]

I have TopChoice applied to my lawn every spring and very rarely see any kind of ants anymore.

 

[Falcon67]

Amdro, not Sevin. And stay on it - treat as soon as you see a mound forming. Gas works - if you don't mind huge forever dead spots in your yard. A small mound they have been working on for a bit can easy take a gallon of liquid whatever. The mounds can go pretty deep.

 

[Rex_A_Lott]

Talstar works pretty good. Good Luck

 

[pcmeiners]

Termidor SC

 

[litljay]

Termidor SC

This. Or, Maxforce bait. Have to keep the water off of it for a couple of days using bait though.

 

[ScottsGT]

I've noticed that Amdro seems to loose its potency after a year or three of sitting on the shelf in the garage. Anyone else notice this, or are my fire ants mutating?

 

[PelicanPines]

Agree with the bait thing if you don't go with the burn and plow.

 

[scdealer]

Ortho fire ant killer.

 

[Falcon67]

I've noticed that Amdro seems to loose its potency after a year or three of sitting on the shelf in the garage. Anyone else notice this, or are my fire ants mutating?

We have so many here none ever sites that long. I usually go through 10 lbs a year. Or 2~3 of the large jugs the sell at Sams. So never had much product sitting around. It's a greasy type of bait, so I'd not be surprised it would have a shelf life.

 

[turbowoodworker]

Agree with Falcon. I go through Amdro jug once a year. Go through the yard every evening retreating till you stop seeing them. Just part of summer.

 

[ard]

Shop at DIY pest control they have stuff to kill them

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Yup

Pro supplies, great prices

 

[Ray-CA]

How about this:

Ray

 

[SGKent]

Termidor SC

x2 just a small amount sprayed on their trails next to the house. They get it on them and take it back to the nest - turns the nest sterile. The product is not labeled for spraying a whole yard and you don't want to do that. You do not want it in the water table or streams. Read the label before using.

 

[brownbagg]

i use to buy the fireant killer, paid good money for stuf that doesnt work, for the last twenty years, I just pour about a 1/2 cup of raw gas and the mound dead within minutes. It kill the grass but a week later that gone too. I can do my whole acre in a couple minute with about a quarter gallon and every fire ant out there is dead in ten minutes

 

[Bighead38]

How about this:

Ray

This is the correct answer.

 

[HenryAZ]

The difference between Amdro and "ant killers" is it kills the queen, because the topside ants carry it down into the nest. If you don't kill the queen, they'll soon be back. The sprays kill on contact and never contact the queen, deep in the nest. I've found Amdro (developed specifically for fire ants) works well with many other types of ants as well. Sprinkle around the mound perimeter (not on top of it), especially on the trails they use. Don't go crazy, it doesn't take much. My supply still works after a couple of years' storage in an outside (hot) shed.

 

[jbwilkins]

Orthene powder if I'm only seeing 1 or 2 mounds....Typically no activity by the next day....

If they keep coming back (new mounds popping up) I put out a insect growth regulator over the whole yard (broadcast spreader) like Extinguish Plus, that typically makes them disappear for 6-8 months if not longer.......

 

[penright]

Go with the Ant Baits.

I have had good luck with Amdro.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/AMDRO-Ant-Block-24-oz-Ant-Killer/1000044709

It is granules. It seems expensive but it only takes a little. I put about a tablespoon along a few pathways. It really does not take much. Go back in a few hours and you will see the worker ants carrying it back to the queen. Within a few days, they will be gone.

I had a field in back of the house and when we bought the house the back yard was infested. The realtor got stung while showing us the house. The same bottle has cleared our my neighbor and father-in-law.

 

[Jazzman442]

Carefully... gas... match... plow or box blade.

I would drag a box blade ... flatten everything after the fire.

Works every time and fast.

 

[countrysquire]

Ortho works very well, it might be the smell that kills them.

 

[orangeblood]

Ortho fire ant killer.

^this

works very well and is relatively cheap. the key is to apply to an undisturbed mound early or late in the day when the ants are foraging. they will walk thru the Orthene and return to the queen with minute amounts of orthene that kill her and the rest of the mound in a few hours. a small amount sprinkled lightly where they are active works well.

if you disturb a fire ant mound, even slightly, the workers will immediately move the queen to a safe (deeper) location and the colony will live and reappear.

 

[TalonFE]

Those crazy fire ants......especially the ones down in Texas. I know they can't talk but if they could they would say how much they love gasoline. And matches. A good soak on the mound, enlarge the main entrance with a stiff rod and re-apply...wait for the vapor to clear then start flicking those matches from a safe distance while maintaining fire watch. Safety 1st....but all fire ants must die.

 

[86turbodsl]

How about this:

Ray

I'm a big fan of that method. Little bastards.

And you get your grass back too.

 

[bad_idea]

Amdro has worked well for me. I dump a pile on the top of the mound and the next day they are all gone. Hit all of the mounds early in the season and I don't see them again for the rest of the year.

 

[hobie1dog]

I got attacked by fire ants five years ago and it triggered my immune system to attack and Destroy 95% of the nerves in my arms and legs, the muscles get their information from the nerves so I lost about 70% of the muscles in my arms and legs becoming completely disabled within four or five months after getting attacked. They can kill you as it was told back in 1899 of an English Explorer in the African Congo who started losing his expedition members to the natives with her blowgun darts, and after he befriended them he found out the only thing they used was crushed-up up fire ants and coconut palm oil . My second neurologist said he did his PhD paper on a lady who had been attacked by fire ants and she had to learn how to communicate by blinking her eyes, so watch out.

I got attacked when I was 58 and became a 90 year old very quickly.

 

[ard]

sorry to hear hobie. How many bites, if we may ask? The literature is all over the place- some are allergic, some not.

 

[KEH]

That's disturbing. I have been stung by fire ants and except for a few scars they have not caused any permanent damage as described in the above post. In my advanced age I have some muscle weakness and balance issues but I can't blame it on fire ants, AFIK. I will have to look into this.

The best cure for fire ant bites I have found is to moisten some tobacco and apply it to the bite, ASAP.

KEH

 

[hobie1dog]

sorry to hear hobie. How many bites, if we may ask? The literature is all over the place- some are allergic, some not.

40 or 50 total all below the knees. Within 1/2 hour I lost hearing on my left side, trouble breathing, ended up in the Urgent Care quickly.

 

[Jinks]

Talstar works pretty good. Good Luck

Second recommendation for Talstar! Had an oak tree FULL of ants, & as a result ants in all the trees, the lawn, the house, etc. I spray the yard & base of the house twice a year with Talstar. No ants, no mosquito's, no fleas, damn near no bugs at all.........Works for me!....

 

[orangeblood]

I got attacked by fire ants five years ago and it triggered my immune system to attack and Destroy 95% of the nerves in my arms and legs, the muscles get their information from the nerves so I lost about 70% of the muscles in my arms and legs becoming completely disabled within four or five months after getting attacked. They can kill you as it was told back in 1899 of an English Explorer in the African Congo who started losing his expedition members to the natives with her blowgun darts, and after he befriended them he found out the only thing they used was crushed-up up fire ants and coconut palm oil . My second neurologist said he did his PhD paper on a lady who had been attacked by fire ants and she had to learn how to communicate by blinking her eyes, so watch out.

I got attacked when I was 58 and became a 90 year old very quickly.

Hobie - very sorry to hear this. I can attest to that type of reaction. I saw it happen to a very healthy 32 year old woman on a tennis court. she was only bitten 2 TIMES and had to be taken to the ER in an ambulance. People react to the bites differently. This is why the safest way to deal with them is a bait or systemic like Orthene (made by Ortho). The bad thing about fire ants is that they manage to get on you before you notice, then they chomp down on your skin with their pinchers and sting with the stinger on their *** multiple times. Any technique that distrubs the mound will set them back temporarily if the queen isnt killed....but they will reproduce and another mound will form relatively quick.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

I have my yard sprayed by a local company. I haven't had a fire ant mound in my yard for 20 years, cost me $39 every two months. money well spent as far as i'm concerned.

 

[penright]

Any technique that disturbs the mound will set them back temporarily if the queen isn't killed....but they will reproduce and another mound will form relatively quick.

You are so right. This is true of any type of ant colony. I will testify one more time to Amdro. All it takes is one worker carrying back one little crystal and the queen dies. It's not really overnight but within a few days. That's why it takes just a little spread out along a few tails. If you come back in a few hours you will see some worker ants carrying the bait back to the nest.

 

[Lucid Moments]

Nuke them from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

 

[SGKent]

you want something with Filpronil in it but it is listed requiring professional license. Maxforce FC is something you might look at or talk to your local pesticide company about.

 

[stormin]

Yep, use Bifen from "do it yourself pest control online" in a sprayer. Spray the center of the mound where the hole is if you see it and count to 10 on stream. After a day they are gone because it goes down deep in the hole and kills the queen and most of the fire ants. It's not very expensive and works.

 

[ransil]

you want something with Filpronil in it but it is listed requiring professional license. Maxforce FC is something you might look at or talk to your local pesticide company about.

You can get filpronil from diy pest control .
Taurus sc i think it is 40 %

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