Do you have Fire Ants.......

Hi All
I am so tired of the battles I have with these pest's.

They have taken over and I cannot seem to figure out what to do about them. My question is..Do you have fire ants in your part of the country (where ever you might be) and what do you do to get rid of them?

I have never used Orthene because of the smell, but I'm getting ready to go and buy it by the barrel if I can.

Thanks

Vicki

Oh, boy do we have fire ants! Nasty they are... I use Amdro, a pelletized bait. You can get it at home improvement places (like Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) or at some of the discount stores (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc.) It costs about $9 for about a quart-sized container. You sprinkle the bait around the mound, being careful not to sprinkle ON the mound and get them swarming, and they come out and take it into the mound and eat it. You won't get the entire colony, but it does knock them back and they will leave that mound and start a new one. It has been my experience that you will NEVER get rid of these nuisances, only decrease their numbers and keep them on the run.

If you should get stung by one of these things, wet the palm of your hand and sprinkle some meat tenderizer on it (I find Adolph's Tenderizer with papain--a papaya enzyme--works best but some folks are allergic to papaya). Make sure to wet the powder enough to make it into a sort of paste. Then spread the paste on the sting. It should stop burning almost immediately. This also works for bee stings.

Go the Organic Way.

The fire ant problem we currently have was caused by the silly use of toxic chemical pesticides. The Orthene, Dursban, Diazinon and Myrex assault caused the multiple queen mounds and the increased seriousness of this pest. Handle these fire ants organically after this.



To truly control fire ants use the following programs.

1. Spray the infested area or site with any compost tea, orange oil and molasses mix. Garden-Ville Auntie Fuego and GreenSense Soil Drench are two commercial products.

2. Drench the worst mounds with the same products that contain orange oil, molasses and compost tea mixture.

3. Treat the site with beneficial nematodes. These living organisms and must be used before the date deadline on the package. If they are dead they won’t work. They can be applied with a hose end sprayer or a large watering can.

4. Go organic. Fire ants don’t like the competition. The biodiversity of microbes, insects, and other animals is the best long term control of fire ants and many other pests.

Coco, I'd never heard of an organic remedy for fireants. Thanks for the information! Now to find one of those products...

I don't think we have fire ants up here yet; but if we ever do, I'm getting me some of these: http://www.ars.usda.gov/fireant/

LOL! I haven't found the phorid flies commercially available yet, rbb. Supposedly they did a big release of those in Gainesville earlier this year. The U of F there did the research and found out about these flies and started testing them for use as a natural control. Seems they are doing pretty well but they haven't apparently made it this far south yet.

If you didn't read this Dave Berry column on fire ants, it's quite hilarious: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/5776275.htm
(It was on the bottom of the page that rbb hyperlinked to.)

That Dave Berry is a HOOT! Thank you for the link RBB.

I hope you never have to encounter these litte buggers, I like to work outside in flip-flops and they always find my feet, or even if I have on a good sturdy laced shoe, they attack it too.

I tried the grits and all they did was carry it home and feast on it, if any "popped" I sure didn't see them.

CoCo, I will try one of the products you mentioned, what have I got to lose except maybe some fire ants.

BG, Thanks for the tip, I will put a bottle of Adolph's around my neck.

Oh, I've encounterd them Narc. I spent the last 8 months of my navy tour in Jacksonville, FL; and I still go back regularly on business. Last time I was there, I showed a friend what happens when you disturb a mound. I used a very long stick; and I was prepared to retreat. My friend's eyes about popped out of his head when he saw how many of the critters boiled up out of the ground, and how fast they got half way up the stick before I dropped it and skeedaddled out of there.

You know I have lived witht these pest's for so long that I just sigh real big and ask, " why cant you just crawl on me and not bite me?" I honestly don't know if I would know how to act if I didn't get bit at least a half dozen times. Geez.:(

You're welcome, narc. I should be running around with a jar of it tied around my neck--I'm getting more and more sensitive to their bites. I worry about having an allergic reaction. Supposedly you WILL eventually have an allergic reaction to these little beasts, it's just a matter of when. Best to try to limit your exposure to their little venomous stings! FYI--in a pinch, spit works to make the paste, too.

I have been around these monsters all my life and my best defense is to WATCH for them and steer clear. They will always be somewhere in the yard for you to walk in.

I can remember when they were not around. But that has been many years ago now. My Husband knows a man that had an accident one night and was thrown from the car and not found for quite a few hours, his injuries were not that bad believe it or not, but because he was unconcious for so long the fire ants were all over him, he ended up being paralyzed from so many stings.

BG I sure hope that isn't true about becoming allergic, but I can see how that would eventually happen. Spit is a wonderful thing huh?

Vicki/Narc

How terrible, narc! What a tragedy to be paralyzed as a result of ant stings. Talk about adding insult to injury! I have heard that fire ants can take down a full grown steer with their stings. I guess these critters have a useful purpose in their native ecosystem, but I fail to see what good they are here. Supposedly they eat termites, fleas, and chiggers which, if true, is a good thing. But what a tradeoff! I'd sooner deal with the termites, fleas, and chiggers.

I find myself more sensitive to their stings every time I get stung by one. As soon as I know I've been zapped, I run for the meat tenderizer in the kitchen. I leave it sitting out by the sink--my dedicated gardening bottle. I really ought to just carry it out with me.

BG
I have the tenderizer on my grocery list and I intend on leaving it in the garage as soon as I bring it.

You know I worry about our horses and how they deal with them, I suppose they must do ok as they don't seem to be bothered, but I do know of baby animals that have been literally eaten alive because of these things, baby rabbits seem to be the thing they go after.

I hope I get to work in the yard this weekend, I have a lot of other "stuff" I should do. I bought some mums and a hosta, and I need to repot some houseplants, there never seems to be enough hours in the day.

Just a note on the meat tenderizer trick, there are multiple "kinds" of tenderizers that you can buy in the grocery store (i.e. different enzymes) If you find that you apply the paste and the stinging/burning doesn't go away within a minute, you need to try a different "kind" of tenderizer. I have one with Bromelain as the tenderizing enzyme and one with Papain. The bromelain didn't work well on the fire ants--at least for me.

I'm not sure if it would work, but kiwis and pineapples might also work if you rub the fruit on the sting. These fruits have enzymes that prevent gelatin from "gelling" (i.e. they break down the proteins, which is exactly what the meat tenderizers do to make your meat [protein] more tender). This is just a wild thought that popped in my head and I have no idea if it would actually work or not.

Here's hoping you won't have to use any of this knowledge!

Well,since I don't have kiwis and pineapples laying around , guess I will have to use the meat tenderizer. Also good if you go in the ocean and get man o' war stings.

I was very lucky last night when I was watering...not one ant even tried, now that is something. I know it wont last, I'm off to the store for Tenderizer.:)

Vicki/Narc

Weeds, I thought you were supposed to pee on the jellyfish stings (*shudder*). The urea is supposed to stop the stinging. I have also heard of using ammonia on the stings. I don't normally carry ammonia OR meat tenderizer to the beach, so I guess pee it will be if I ever get stung.

LOLOL BG, I had forgotten about that. That could prove to be difficult.

Weeds, it's not that hard if you are a guy or have a guy around to help you. They can aim, though they might be a little shy about peeing on someone else, and I can't say as I'd blame them... It might be easier to find a cup or other container to assist in the process.