Fire Ants, Minis and Chemical...

[A Yankee In NC]

Here in NC we have a HUGE problem with fire ants.

My husband has discovered 2 very large mounds out in the pasture.

Are there chemicals that I must NOT use? PLease help as I do not want my sweet Stuart bitten by those horrible little insects. It hurts like the dickens to get a fire ant bite.

thanks!

 

[Just Us N Texas]

This is probably not the best answer you will get, but I use Sevin Dust on the lousy little boogers. Sevin is safe for dogs, and garden veggies. It should be safe for the horses too, as we have those too. I shake the powder on the ant hill, heavily. Then, after a couple of hours, I go back, and if there is no evidence of ants, I knock around the hill and do it again. A dog breeder my girls got their mini aussie from told them a cup of Clorox on a hill will do the trick better. Good luck!

 

[Becky]

I've been using a product called Amdro on the big leaf cutter ant mounds out in my pasture. I've had pretty good luck with it although, one stubborn mound is still active. I managed to eliminate at least 6 mounds so far. They may not be as bad as fire ants, but when those leaf cutter ants decide to bite, it really stings! Plus, they remove vegetation in such a large area around the mounds, I'm glad to see them go!

 

[faithfarm]

EXTINQUISH PLUS this is a combiination of AMDRO PRO (pesticide) and Extinquish (IGR). There were actual studies done, and this product will eliminate 90% of fireants for up to 1 yr. I spread it in my pastures last summer after spending many dollars on a lot of different products and eliminated most of my ants.

If you only have a couple of mounds just sprinkle it around the mounds and they will find it.

Extinquish Plus is available at most farm stores or Jeffers.

Rick

 

[justagirl]

I've never tried it on fire ants , but used coffee grinds works everytime for me , just dump the grinds on top of the mound until you no longer see them . This tip came from my neighbor who owns an organic landscaping company.