Hey Pyromomma! Thanks so much for your kind concern! I've been able to use benadryl (immediately) when bitten and have a pretty much 'normal' reaction then. I take it with me all over the place! During my study abroad in Mexico, I was the only one with it on me, and people would ask me for it ALL the time :D . And I've become very good at avoiding them. During this past month (about 6hrs a day in the yard a day) I haven't been stung once!!! Jippeee! Once I try out some of the products mentioned here on my yard, I will definitely post some feedback on how its working. How about you, LavinaMae? Have you tried any products/remedies to your satisfaction yet?
What do you do to get rid of the pesky Fire ants?
I just had my second bout with fire ant bites. First time, I did just the bleach and I swear I thought I had something crawling around in my skin for weeks. The bites made me crazy and even kept me up at night. It went on for over a month. I was bit just over 2 weeks ago again and I immediately ran inside and took 6 children's benedryl (probably way too many but only had children's on hand and wasn't going to take the time to stop and read the package) and then dabbed them with bleach. They itched for ONE day this time and nothing compared to the itch from last time.
Also, I know how politically incorrect it is, but in my dog yard, which is small, when I got a mound once, I used gas. It killed the ants immediately and I was able to wash it away and what may have been left didn't smell good enough to the dogs so they'd investigate and try to eat it. The ants never reappeared in that surrounding area again. Not recommending anyone to use gas but in a dog yard, it was the best choice I found for a quick kill without leaving poisons out for the dogs to get into. I use Once and Done in my pastures. I'm still trying to figure out the name of it tho cause I've done it a million times and it's never done. New mounds appear every year.
Hey, if you have bites, Something that has worked for me is Swedish Bitters (you can find it in health food stores). It has a lot of alcohol in it. I dab the bites with it, sometimes I leave it on all day. It helps. I have decided not to use the fire ant stuff that I had to sprinkle all around the yard. I read the small print and it says that it could hurt aquatic animals. I have frogs and such and never want to hurt them. Anyone else in a similar situation? I also get lots of birds and squirrels that I don't want to hurt. I love them coming to my yard.
That is why I have decided to not use the "Whole Yard" treatment type. I read the labels and the warnings are pretty scary. The RIFA are not bad in my yard, but I think I would rather treat the individual mounds. I figure if it is bad for aquatic animals, it cannot be good for us non-aquatic ones. Especially those furry ones that run around with no shoes on their paws.
If I had a farm or huge field, that would be different, perhaps, but it is fairly easy to spot them if you are cruising your yard on a regular basis
You're right. But mine are not that easy to spot. They like to make their mounds at the roots of my flower bushes- the flowers pretty much cover it up. They also have mounds that don't have a distinguishable center- often there's just a crack in the ground. What do you use for spot treatment?
I have had good luck with the new Bayer Fire Ant mound treatment - got it from Lowes. Works really fast and seems to get them all.