Need Help with Ant Control in Yard

[Paystar]

Hello, where I live it is all sandy soil (more sand than loam), and my lawn is overrun with both red and black ants. I have 2 acres of lawn and a small budget, so is there a cost effective way to deal with this? I looked at store bought pesticides, but it would cost a fortune for an area that big. The kids can't even play in the yard without getting bit, and there are ant hills popping up everywhere. Any suggestions? Would any weed killers do anything?
Thanks.

 

[Tororider]

I have used diatomaceous earth to kill and keep ants away, you could look into that. But I haven't had to do it on a large scale, just drop some on their hills and put a perimeter around the house. The good news is that if you get the food grade stuff it is safe for human consumption and therefore would be safe for use around the kids, unlike many pesticides. Good luck.

 

[DennisArrow]

Hey........I use fireant stuff on each mound.......this has worked for ALL kinds of ants.......the problem is is that they come in from outside of your property.......so it is gonna be an ongoing problem..........Dennis

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

geraniums, chrysanthemums, and plants in the mint family (even "creeping charley") are supposed to help prevent infestations - but since you already have the problem, I'd consider some of the "Grant's Ants" products or possibly check the Garden's Alive or other "natural pest control" website for "non-toxic to human & pet" options.
You might also try making up bait stations using borax and sugar water - they'll drink this down and feed it to the queen which will kill her, but off the top of my head I don't know a good way to do this outside where other critters won't get into it.

 

[Tig]

Hi Paystar.
My last place was sandy and very dry. I found that keeping the lawn healthy fought them off. Easiest was for me to do this was to use agricultural grade fertilizer (cheap). 18-18-18 Green grass 4-5" tall didn't seem to be to their liking. It does take a year to get a head this way but it worked for me. It even chokes out the weeds. I did not have to water at all and I used no pesticides or herbicides.

 

[310-510]

Paystar,
Several years ago I had enough of those darned ants. They toppled (and further destroyed) a 15' cactus, mounds were everywhere, and they were making their way into the house. After purchasing a 2 pounds of Combat (HYDRAMETHYLNON) granules from the orange box store and sprinkling a little around all mounds, the perimeter of the house, and anywhere else ants were found. WOW! 3 days later, almost all ants were gone over the entire property. (1/4 acre) For the last couple of years, a little sprinkle is needed about once a year when a new ant place shows up. The 2 pound container is still over 1/2 full.
Carl

 

[LBrown59]

How can you be having that problem in the middle of winter.
You are way north of me in Ohio.
There are no ants here at this time of the year.

Hello, where I live it is all sandy soil (more sand than loam), and my lawn is overrun with both red and black ants. I have 2 acres of lawn and a small budget, so is there a cost effective way to deal with this? I looked at store bought pesticides, but it would cost a fortune for an area that big. The kids can't even play in the yard without getting bit, and there are ant hills popping up everywhere. Any suggestions? Would any weed killers do anything?
Thanks.

 

[Bird]

Down in the country, the fire ants were thick. Once or twice a year, I spread Logic on the 3 acres around the house; one pound per acre. Then I kept diazinon mixed and would slowly pour about a gallon on any ant mound I found. Now I'm back in town and can't buy diazinon, so I keep a couple of gallon jugs of Malathion mixed up and pour one on every ant mound I find. This past week, I worked on the whole yard and only found one ant bed and that was under one of the splash pans at the bottom of a rain gutter downspout.

 

[Tororider]

Paystar,
Several years ago I had enough of those darned ants. They toppled (and further destroyed) a 15' cactus, mounds were everywhere, and they were making their way into the house. After purchasing a 2 pounds of Combat (HYDRAMETHYLNON) granules from the orange box store and sprinkling a little around all mounds, the perimeter of the house, and anywhere else ants were found. WOW! 3 days later, almost all ants were gone over the entire property. (1/4 acre) For the last couple of years, a little sprinkle is needed about once a year when a new ant place shows up. The 2 pound container is still over 1/2 full.
Carl

With kids around, you may want to try this approach with the diatomaceous earth. With the kids that would be my first try. I think you can buy a 50lb bag for about $30.

 

[310-510]

With kids around, you may want to try this approach with the diatomaceous earth. With the kids that would be my first try. I think you can buy a 50lb bag for about $30.

Good point. In my case, no wife, no kids, no lawn (just rocks and sand), steep hill, no problem. Now! if those pesky neighbor kids happen to be playing on my rock hill eating the ant bait, they might be on their own!
Carl