Ants interupting my project.

[Rio_Grande]

We are trying to clear and build a pole building that we may later live in. Our problem is, ANTS these are not fire ants or at least I don't think they are, but they will bite ya and it hurts. Anyone have an idea how to kill these things? I have used ant bait, borax and sugar, fire, diesel, fire and diesel and digging out. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[smstonypoint]

They look like fire ant mounds to me. Fire ants will come streaming out of their mounds if you stomp on the ground nearby.

Have you tried Amdro?

Steve

 

[murphy1244]

Pour some Borax on the hill.

 

[stuckmotor]

It's my belief that fire ants slip up your leg, get into position, and all bite at the same time on command from the leader. She must have a tiny megaphone.

 

[Rio_Grande]

I used a ant bait, might have been Ardmo, not certain. It was the only ant bait I could find locally. It was a granular product. I spread a lot around the mound 4 times this summer, watered it in as required and it seemed to set them back, but if you poke a mound they still come flooding out, juts not as many as the untreated mounds.

I thought fire ant mounds had 1 hole down the middle, this is solid on top with tunnels that exit out the sides. I am of course no expert. Every time I make a pile of dirt they infest it..

 

[deanocraft]

I'm new here... Usually lurking while I try to learn a bit about tractors... I am experienced with fire ants since I grew up in New Orleans. They do indeed sneak up your leg and then all bite at once. The bite will form a little puss ball in a day or so. They are mean and should be eradicated! I usually pour lighter fluid on the mounds, let it sink in well, and then light it for a good time. I guess any petroleum product would work as well.

 

[lockhaven]

3 Ways to Get Rid of Fire Ants - wikiHow
from what I have read from this a great volume of killer is necessary to wipe out the colony

 

[NS Gearhead]

What about a vac truck half full of water!?

 

[Complete Turf Care]

The key to killing ants is to do a broadcast treatment instead of treating individual mounds. If you treat just the mounds, new mounds will form in a few days because there are always some 'less active' mounds in the area that you don't see.

Talstar (bifenthrin) is a good product to use for broadcast treatments. It is fairly inexpensive and is safe for pets and humans. And it works quickly, within a day or so. It helps to water it in after application, or spread it just before a light rain. It is also better to apply when the ants are active, which us usually in the morning or late afternoon. However, it does kill many other insects. (such as worms, mosquitoes, fleas, etc.)

There are many baits available and they work very well. Baits are more specific to ants and will not kill other insects. However, baits can take a long time to kill the mounds, because the bait (poison) is taken to the queen. She dies and then the workers slowly die off. This can take 4-6 weeks.

Again, the key is to treat the entire area, and the larger area you treat, the longer it will take for the ants to re-invade.

And, as always, be sure to read and follow the label before using any pesticide.

 

[Stimw]

They don't have to be fire ants for the poison to work.
I buy Ortho, or Spectracide fire ant killer and use it frequently which knocks them down but they do migrate from other properties.
When I bought my property there were free range chickens on it. There were NO ants and very little other insects!!

 

[Rio_Grande]

NS the dang things float. We have one by the creek and used a pressure washer on the mound,,, they band together like a raft and float.


We will keep applying the poison. We are going to work on roads and firewood this weekend. Thought about digging them up with the track loader..

 

[the old grind]

Fipronil-based indoor baits are very effective but risky, and recent news suggests that carryover can be harmful to pets or plants when used outdoors. Bifen(thrin) is another that workers will take to the queen. See post #9. :thumbsup:

Digging them up with FEL or BH would be a "Pandora's box" thing & I wouldn't dream of trying it. Wear muck boots or track shoes no matter what you use. We don't have fire ants up here in MI, but there are plenty of other pests and these are my 'go to' guys for supplies and info.

Fire Ant Treatment | Do It Yourself Pest Control

:2cents:

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have a much better idea

Casting a Fire Ant Colony with Molten Aluminum (Cast #043) - YouTube


Or if you think it is bigger

Giant Ant Hill Excavated - YouTube

 

[TCowner]

All of this talk about fire ants leads me to believe that the cold winters of the north aren't a bad trade off.

 

[NS Gearhead]

All of this talk about fire ants leads me to believe that the cold winters of the north aren't a bad trade off.

You got that right!

That first vid of the molten alum was very cool! I wonder if boiling water would have the same effect of killing them off?

 

[Deere Dude]

The key to killing ants is to do a broadcast treatment instead of treating individual mounds. If you treat just the mounds, new mounds will form in a few days because there are always some 'less active' mounds in the area that you don't see.

Talstar (bifenthrin) is a good product to use for broadcast treatments. It is fairly inexpensive and is safe for pets and humans. And it works quickly, within a day or so. It helps to water it in after application, or spread it just before a light rain. It is also better to apply when the ants are active, which us usually in the morning or late afternoon. However, it does kill many other insects. (such as worms, mosquitoes, fleas, etc.)

There are many baits available and they work very well. Baits are more specific to ants and will not kill other insects. However, baits can take a long time to kill the mounds, because the bait (poison) is taken to the queen. She dies and then the workers slowly die off. This can take 4-6 weeks.

Again, the key is to treat the entire area, and the larger area you treat, the longer it will take for the ants to re-invade.

And, as always, be sure to read and follow the label before using any pesticide.

X2
We have fire ants and have treated individual hills with Amdro but had limited success. It kills the hills right away but they pop up someplace else.

Get a boom type sprayer and spray your building area and wherever you don't want ants and bugs with bifenthrin. That works good with carpenter bees and ants and any almost any kind of bug that crawls of flies.

I got a couple gallons of Bifen IT and I am sold on it. I mix 1oz/gallon and spray where ever I don't want spiders of bugs. My newer property had spiders, fire ants, carpenter bees etc. I sprayed the whole inside of the barn, around shutters and windows on the house, porch, deck, bushes and lawn for 100' around the buildings. I got it mostly for termites (we don't have any) but every other bug either died or went someplace else.

 

[Rio_Grande]

Nice videos, those ants are tiny, mine are about 1/4 inch long. I think this weekend we are going to rake the tops off the mounds and use the weed burner on them. I am clearing the area again to prepare for the building we are putting up. Once we have it cleared I will spread some granular killer.

Do you think the granular 7 will work? It is cheap and goes a long way.

 

[Spindifferent]

I wonder if boiling water would have the same effect of killing them off?

Yes, it will.

 

[oosik]

I have ants - but no fire ants. I spread a 3-5 foot wide circle of Decon around any ant hill I want to put down. Gone & gone.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Nice videos, those ants are tiny, mine are about 1/4 inch long. I think this weekend we are going to rake the tops off the mounds and use the weed burner on them. I am clearing the area again to prepare for the building we are putting up. Once we have it cleared I will spread some granular killer.

Do you think the granular 7 will work? It is cheap and goes a long way.

Raking the tops off an burning will not kill the queen, therefore will not kill the colony. And I don't think the granular Sevin will work as well as granular bifenthrin. Bifenthrin is cheap and readily available at most feed stores, farm and garden stores, and you can probably find it at big box stores too.

And you will have to cover the entire area you want to treat, not just the mounds.

And, as always, read and follow the label before using any pesticide.