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Thread: Fire ants

  1. #1

    Default Fire ants

    I'm going through the fire ant reeducation camp. I don't remember them being this bad. Anyway, they want a war. "Say hello to my little friend" what ever it takes.


  2. #2
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    On the list. And that is why I don't live down there. That and the other 2157 things that are on The List.

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    Some years ago I taught a science class. It was a "Resource" class for those of you that know what that is. Anyway, At that particular high school the interior courtyard was a quadrangle. There was a huge infestation of fire ants. From my beekeeping days I knew that with bees combining hives had to be done very carefully or the bees would kill each other.

    In one quarter we sprayed insecticide. In another we put down Ant Bait. In one we did nothing (control). In the last quarter we got two shovels and would take scoops out of two beds and exchange them. We did every mound in the quarter. The results were as expected with the insecticide and the bait. They were diminished. The control was still going strong and in the ant exchange quarter they were gone. That's how it worked that time.

    Personally, I spray the heck out of them. #1 son pours boiling water on the mounds. The boiling water works remarkably well.

    Alan

  4. #4
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Can't you use one of those flame thrower thingies?

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    That just onna pizzthem off...Bigger fire....
    That why they call them......... Fire ants
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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Other than some restricted use products - good, quality fire ant baits work the best IMO. That restricted use product (only available to pest control operators and the record keeping is a pita) works well. In fact it worked so well that groups like the Sierra Club turned their junk science lobbying group loose to make the change. A fifty pound bag used to cost about $50 and would treat just under an acre. There would be no fire ants for a year (maybe a little longer). Now it is over $200 a bag, so it has priced itself out of the local residential market. Golf courses and school use it a lot.
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  7. #7

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    I thought U of F came up with Amdro (bait) to spread on the pastures around here to protect million dollar horses. It's always worked for me but I haven't bought it in years. I take a bag to Kicco each year but don't need it.

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    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    Those were one of the reasons I looked for work outside of Texas as soon as I got my degree. It took my kids awhile to trust the grass up here. However, they do keep the chiggers down, and any other insect population.
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    Spent several hours in a rotting tree about 70 feet up in Panama. It was full of fire ants. By the time I body rappelled down I was covered with fire ants. Lesson: if there are a lot of them, the toxin can create problems. Yes, an Army airborne operation at night, long story.
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  10. #10

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    Well this want work on that tree but for fire ants in the ground take one of those Steam Pressure Washers and build you a 8 foot probe . Fire it up and keep going as far as you can . Keep spraying tel water starts to bubble out of the ground . At that point yu have cooked the workers , the brood and the queens .
    Yes a lot of the colonies have multiple queens.

  11. #11
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    I ain't eatin' fire ants. Cooked or not. No. Where's madmax?

  12. #12
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Feed them to that monkey you are using to find water!
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  13. #13
    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    Gasoline use to work well!
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  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wildthang View Post
    Gasoline use to work well!
    That's probably what I'll go back to.

  15. #15
    Senior Member WolfVanZandt's Avatar
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    Y'know, I just saw a picture of a lady up to her midsection in Florida flood water. One of the biggest dangers in floods isn't the water but what's floating in the water, and in the Southeast one of the worst is floating mats of fire ants. Ain't no way I'd just be standing there gabbing with a fireman, high and dry in his fire truck.
    True enough, my final home is still out there, but this is most certainly my home range and I love it. I love every rock I fall off and tree I trip over. Even when I am close to dying from exhaustion, a beautiful sunset doesn't lose it's power to refresh and inspire me and that, in itself, is enough to save me sometimes.

  16. #16
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    DON'T use gasoline. It does not destroy the nest, only the entrance. They will just build a new one. Use a bait. It may take a week or so to work, but it will kill the entire nest.
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    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    Feed them to that monkey you are using to find water!
    Good thing I wasn't drinking anything when I read that. Now that is funny!
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    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    DON'T use gasoline. It does not destroy the nest, only the entrance. They will just build a new one. Use a bait. It may take a week or so to work, but it will kill the entire nest.
    You need to use a lot of it and set it on fire after a few minutes.
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  19. #19
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Won't that put the whole yard in orbit?

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  20. #20
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    I thought that was why they called them "fire ants"!
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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