Fighting ants in "pet-safe" manner

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JustJim Chapel Hill, NC(Zone 7b) Apr 06, 2008

Our epimediums (epimedia?) are coming in here in Chapel Hill, NC (zone 7). I noticed that one looked much worse than others planted at the same time a couple of years ago. On closer examination, I discovered a huge colony of black ants around the plant. I fear they are damaging the roots.

I'd like to get rid of the ants but we also have a new 6 mo. old puppy so, if possible, I'd like to avoid using anything that might pose a danger to him.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 06, 2008

Look for ant baits with boric acid as the active, it's non-toxic to people/pets but will take care of many types of ants. (I think the boric acid would kill any ants, but at least in the stuff I buy I think the stuff they put in to lure the ants is sugary, so if your ants don't like sugar they may not be attracted to the bait) If the plant's already dead you can also pour boiling water over the ant hill. And I just read the other day that you can pour club soda on ant hills too and that'll kill them (and the club soda wouldn't be nearly as likely to kill your plant as the boiling water!)

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ceejaytown The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a) Apr 18, 2008

Are these fire ants? If you disturb the mound they charge out to do damage to the perpetrator. I use Amdro, which is a bait. It doesn't kill them immediately, so they are able to take it into the mound and feed the queen. She'll die and the colony will die too. If you don't get the queen, you've accomplished little.

Since you have a puppy, I would suggest you sprinkle the Tablespoon of bait around the mound and keep the puppy away from that area for a couple of days. It loses its effectiveness quickly. I don't think a few granules would hurt the puppy, but I'm not an expert on that, and so I would be cautious.

http://www.fireant.net/

A fire ant mound at the base of a plant will kill it.

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