Ants…

[S854]

On our property we have several of these hills… this one is roughly 24” diameter/ 10-12” tall…

That pic is kind of an optical illusion… looks sunk on top… it’s not…

I’m not sure what kind of ants they are, I’m not an entomologist… and it’s really hard to photograph a particular ant… basically, they’re black, always live in that kind of hill and there’s thousands of ‘em on top of the hill on a sunny day…

Most of the hills are a good distance from our house/barn/shed… we had one taking over the root of a lilac bush about 50’ from the house… dispensed with that one with powdered sugar/borax… that combo works surprisingly well…

This year it seems as though we have more hills than previous years… should we worry about them? Or are they a “beneficial” critter we should leave be…

 

[CH4Ohio]

Around here we use insecticide.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Never heard of a “beneficial” ant.

 

[MossRoad]

On our property we have several of these hills… this one is roughly 24” diameter/ 10-12” tall…View attachment 3419112

That pic is kind of an optical illusion… looks sunk on top… it’s not…

I’m not sure what kind of ants they are, I’m not an entomologist… and it’s really hard to photograph a particular ant… basically, they’re black, always live in that kind of hill and there’s thousands of ‘em on top of the hill on a sunny day…

Most of the hills are a good distance from our house/barn/shed… we had one taking over the root of a lilac bush about 50’ from the house… dispensed with that one with powdered sugar/borax… that combo works surprisingly well…

This year it seems as though we have more hills than previous years… should we worry about them? Or are they a “beneficial” critter we should leave be…

If they aren't near your house/structures, aren't causing any issues, etc... I'd just leave em alone. Like all creatures, they have a place in the ecosystem.

Pretty impressive mound.

 

[Torvy]

Never heard of a “beneficial” ant.

They are good for the soil. Some prey on critters that damage garden plants.

We have a lot of fire ants. As long as they aren't near the house or areas we walk, I let them be.

Lots of granular options will kill the mound quickly.

 

[Tinhack]

We used to have fire ants here. Godless creatures. Their sting worse than their name and they would gang up on you. Seems they had a signal or something to all sting at once. Then came the crazy ants that ran them all off. Now the crazy ants are gone and we have giant black ants that gather seeds and clippings. I don't know what they're called but they usually stay to themselves. If you happen to get one mad at you, they hang on with large pincers and sting. Feels like a wasp sting. Nothing kills them. They eat pesticide for breakfast and laugh at you.

 

[mrmikey]

I had a couple dozen of those in my back yard when I bought this place. I'd stir them up with a shovel, mix in some gas and oil mix and set it alight and while ti was burning continue to mix. Once it went out I'd add some ant bait and stir it up a bit more. That was 12-14 years ago and they never returned.

 

[MossRoad]

...They eat pesticide for breakfast and laugh at you.

The Keith Richards of ants.

 

[Jstpssng]

I had a couple dozen of those in my back yard when I bought this place. I'd stir them up with a shovel, mix in some gas and oil mix and set it alight and while ti was burning continue to mix. Once it went out I'd add some ant bait and stir it up a bit more. That was 12-14 years ago and they never returned.

"I know it's gas, and well; gas is gas. But it sure kills the @×÷= out of those ants!"

(Paraphrase of retired TBN member Thingy)

 

[newbury]

Aunts can be difficult to get out of the house.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Around here it would probably be fire ants. They are the debil... I have ant killing parties several times a year. I can't put out the best poisons as we grow food/fruits and they sometimes make a mount right beside/integrate with a mound. Sooo I have found a simple solution of 2 tablespoons per gallon of dawn dish soap in a sprayer works well. It at least reduces the numbers, if you can stick a nozzle dep and around the mound you MIGHT find the queen. That kills that colony. Without it she just makes more.

Around our fruit/veggies I have come to appreciate a product called "come and get it" . Has spinosad in it and as best as I can tell definitely can kill a mound.

Around non food growing conditions I am trying a product called Advion. Another bait product that targets the queen. Just got it and plan to use it on the mounds away from my growing areas.

If you're not sure if you have fire ants you could try taking a picture and find a matching name. Or you can stick your hand on top of the mound taking the top off, leave you hand there for about 1-2 minutes. When a fire ant bites (me at least) it kinda feels itchy at first then a slow almost needle/pin point. After a few hours blisters appear around the sting sites.

I have also seen witch hazel helps to stop them from blistering up if you rub some on/around the area a few times pretty soon after the bite.

Of course if you are allergic to bees and such you probably don't want to intentionally get stung. they have been known to cause allergic reactions including death. I have been bitten dozens of times at once multiple times so far nothing but discomfort.

If indeed they are fireants they are probably more around. Interesting, they can have multiple openings to their nests. THe nests have run for 20ft or more and down deep. So the likelihood of getting the queen is slim, but I do it anyway. Dawn is cheap...

 

[S854]

I used a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and Boraxo sprinkled on the hill closest to our house… the sugar attracts the workers who then carry the Boraxo gut-bomb down to the queen… that mound was inactive within a week…

I like the cheap/effective paradigm…

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

We used to have fire ants here. Godless creatures. Their sting worse than their name and they would gang up on you. Seems they had a signal or something to all sting at once. Then came the crazy ants that ran them all off. Now the crazy ants are gone and we have giant black ants that gather seeds and clippings. I don't know what they're called but they usually stay to themselves. If you happen to get one mad at you, they hang on with large pincers and sting. Feels like a wasp sting. Nothing kills them. They eat pesticide for breakfast and laugh at you.

Where can I get some of those crazy ants? I'd love to get rid of my fire ants. lol. I use some of the granular stuff to keep them under control and kill the mounds but they always pop up somewhere else.

 

[Mulder]

 

[1 Old Man]

......
If you're not sure if you have fire ants you could try taking a picture and find a matching name. Or you can stick your hand on top of the mound taking the top off, leave you hand there for about 1-2 minutes. When a fire ant bites (me at least) it kinda feels itchy at first then a slow almost needle/pin point. After a few hours blisters appear around the sting sites.

...and doing that Sir is insanity ! In 1 or 2 minutes those little B-tards will be all up your arm,
in your shirt and stinging the ever loving out of you.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

yup. but then you know...

 

[Tinhack]

I had a couple dozen of those in my back yard when I bought this place. I'd stir them up with a shovel, mix in some gas and oil mix and set it alight and while ti was burning continue to mix. Once it went out I'd add some ant bait and stir it up a bit more. That was 12-14 years ago and they never returned.

I've tried that several times with the black ants. They just open an new hole a foot or two from the original and keep going. Their nests can be six feet or more deep and 3-4 feet in diameter. Unless you catch the queen in one of the upper chambers laying eggs, the colony survives.

I found this example of a colony.

 

[workinonit]

We are infested with fire ants. I spray Regent at about 3/10 oz per acre usually once every 2 years. I haven't had them in 12 years or longer. I spray my garden and around my equipment shed too. Probably 15 acres or so.

 

[etpm]

I live in western WA state. We have ants called "Thatch Ants". These ants are black and large. They build hills out of pine needles and the like and can be very tall and big around. Like 4 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter. They are usually no problem for homes, crops, and trees. We had 3 colonies that didn't get very tall, only about 2 feet for the tallest, and I suspect that they were all basically the same colony. Unusually the ants started attacking some hemlock trees and plants in our garden. I looked into insecticides to kill them but none of the chemicals available at Home Depot and the like would work on them. I tried flooding the nests but that didn't work. So I dug a 6 foot deep hole and then dug up the nests with my backhoe and dumped the nests in the hole. Then I filled the hole with a couple feet of water and then dumped the dirt I had removed back into the hole. That killed the ant colonies.
Eric

 

[1 Old Man]

We are infested with fire ants. I spray Regent at about 3/10 oz per acre usually once every 2 years. I haven't had them in 12 years or longer. I spray my garden and around my equipment shed too. Probably 15 acres or so.

Thanks for the tip. Had to look up fipronil but it looks like it might just work on pasture.
Been using bifenthrin and it works great but I don't want to pasture spray with it.
Just making sure...you do mean 3 to 10 oz per ac Correct? Always looking for ways
to kill fire ants.