Yes and I know that you are tempted to by the thought of Patricia's torch! I can see you toasting them as they march across the drive way!
Fireants....I hate them!
We have had rain every other day for a week or so here. DH & I worked outside this weekend, we took a break and went to sit on the glider by the pond. I reached and moved the damp foam cushion only to find ants had eggs and all in between it and the wood glider! They can sit up shop anywhere, and quick!
They are creative and determined little buggers. We just have to be better at it than they are.:)
Yikes! That would have been a declaration of war! Hope you killed the little buggers.
OooH Yeah, I did!
We used to do a lot of canoeing. Paddled the flooded Brazos once and noticed a huge brown mound floating with us - paddled closer to see what it was - Must have been several million fire ants. Then started noticing how many such colonies were in the river. Prayed we could get to our take-out before getting caught in a log-jam with all of those ants.
April,
What part of Missouri City? We are in Lake Olympia.
YIKES! Floating fire ant islands...how long did they have to keep you in a straight jacket? Oh I was just imagining my reaction to your little canoe trip...that would be one of my worst nightmares!
I moved out of Lake Olympia last year over to Colony Lakes...huge distance, LOL. Behind Kroger. I lived on Crescent Oak- before that I lived for 9 years on Glenn Lakes and before that 3 years on Havershire, off Hwy 6 behind Oyster Creek & QV Middle School. I have lived in Missouri City/Quail Valley for the last 18 years. I started looking to move to this area 20 or so years ago, Hwy 6 was a 2 lane road and there were maybe 2 or 3 grocery stores. Things have sure changed. How long have you lived here? What do you grow?
April
april,
We have been here since 1987. Very few houses then. Watched the balloon festival from our yard.
Right now, I have rosemary, mint, tri-color sage, parsley, dill, cilantro (gone to seed - trying to harvest that), kolorabi, and several types of tomatoes. Anne Russian, a couple of yellows, and a couple of grape, and some red that survived the "cat -attack" berfore I got them outside into the ground. All have fruit - now if they will only turn red without the mockingbirds and insects finding them.
Also some gourds for a friend.
We avoided getting caught by any of the "islands", but watched then swarm when they hit some log jams. I'm sure they thought they were safe on a hard surface, but more rain upstream cleared the jam later that day.
I have an associate in the Woodlands that swears by Over-N-Out, but it does not last very long for me. I mix it up - sometimes spectracide, sometines orthene, sometimes just seven dust. HD suggested not staying with one product more than a year.
The threads that mentioned that they don't like really good soil seems to have some merit, too. I do not have any mounds in the garden. But leave a board, stepping-stone, or something else that shelters the ground near the garden, and they are sure to have a nest under it.
Want to fire up the Mantis and work over part of the garden this week - just have to figure out what to plant with the heat coming on.
You really have to look out for fireants in floods too--be aware of that if you ever have to walk thru standing water.
Right on dmj.
I have read that if you are within the "scout's" range, they will know you are there and alert the colony within 30 seconds.
DW is very sensitive to them - keep lots of Contac in the medicine cabnet and with us when we travel. It is almost pure antihistimine - got the tip from a pest-control man who also was a scuba diver - seems the undersea stinging critters, beesm wasps, fire ants, etc. use similar toxins that attack the lungs. You may over dry your mucus membranes, but you can survive long enough to get to an emergency room. Can't do that if you can't breathe.
I'm always grateful for a good hard rain - shows me where to spot treat. I even do the next door neighbors yards, if I can get to the mounds.
I used one of those treat the entire yard products one year, it said it had to be repeated every 3 mos so I used it twice during the warm months. It did pretty good, can't recall which brand but I used my spreader to apply it. However, my oldest child reproached me because it killed other things besides just ants...poo! Since then I have pretty much stayed w/ Bayer. I have noticed that Bayer now has some product that is by professional exterminator or lawn service. I have no idea of the cost or details.
Just discussed FA w/ my mother in CA; she was telling me that Orange County suddenly found fire ants and realized they were going to become a huge problem. They set up a fund to deal w/ the problem and they were doing a good job. I am not sure if they were just keeping them contained or were close to irradicating, but then they did not refund the program and now the county is full of them.
I had read some info on the aggie site that says that if everybody in a subdivision would aggressively treat their yards you could keep the FA out. Another reason that I don't understand why folks won't treat.
Ok, now you've done it, I am up on my soap box!!!!LOL.
April
April,
Better a soapbox instead of a fireant mound. LOL been there; done that - ouch!
Or an "unstable" ladder--be careful there April! Good gardeners and good people are an endangered species (as I hope fireants will become).
Debbie
I think we've finally hit an 'impasse'...the mosquitoes may carry the fire ants away.
I made the error of walking out into the sunshine (which we haven't seen in about 4 days) to work in the garden--must have gotten 15-20 mosquito bites before running for the deep woods off.
We found years ago, that 50 -100mg of B1 a day makes one less tasty and attractive to them. Used to do a lot of canoeing and camping - big-time bites the first year.
For some reason the mosquitos don't like me too much as it is..and I don't want to speculate why, nor do I need Debbie to speculate, LOL. Even when I do get bit my bites generally don't seem to itch as much as most folks; that being said, I admit to be afraid of west nile and who knows what else they carry. I will have to buy a can of deep woods and return to taking my B vitamins! Poor Debbie!
me? speculate?
You know you were thinking about it! Don't tell me you weren't.
For relief from bites try cold. Ice or even holding a cold water bottle on the bites will make the sting stop and the bites never blister. Learned that from some field hands. Only danger is hypothermia when you get bit as much as dmj. It really does work.
On the football fields, they use comet cleanser. It is not hazardous to the players but discourages the ants.
A friend whose company controls vegetation and ants on the railroad tracks says the solution is use any ant poison and sprinkle it in a U shape around the mound .... aiming it toward the neighbors. Heh...heh...heh...
LOL. I know some folks I'd like to aim them at!
In the ER they use to tell you to run hot- not hot enough to burn, but hot as you can stand it- water over the bite for a couple of minutes. I have tried it and it does stop the stinging but I don't think it prevented blistering so the cold sounds like a better deal! Will try it w/ my grandson, but agree deb should not use that method due to hypothermia risk!
I'm a tough old bird--I survived. But I do watch where I'm walking after all this rain....I know their out there conspiring to jump on me when I least suspect it. lol
Oh yeah, my grandson and I were out yesterday between down pours hunting for them! My work is cut out for me...well after I remove the neighbor's dog's #*%@% from my lawn. Perhaps I should take it over and leave it at their front door? Wonder if that would drive the point home. LOL. Can't tell you what my husband has suggested...but it sounds funny.
Perhaps you can get your fireants to "hitch-hike' a ride over to the neighbors house on the dog poop as you return it? lol
Now that is quite a mental picture!
Oh what a great idea!
I did buy product that keeps dogs and I guess cats out of your yard, it's base was naptha so it smelled like moth balls. The problem is that you have to reapply after rains or watering so that meant that I would have to do that twice a week and at that it was a bit costly. I am wondering if a sign in my yard reminding people that it is in deed my yard and not their dogs bathroom would help- hmm that would require the dog owner to be able to read- what do you think?
That's asking for a stretch in Houston, April....
Ortho has this stuff called Dog and Cat repelant in big (maybe 2 qt. sized?) cans for about $7 or $8...can't say as I know if it works--I decided to let the cats visit to keep the rodent population down. I have one of those weird problems only I can have. I have 7 varieties of tomatoes this year; one of them 'Green Zebra' seems to attract rodents. They are dessimating the one plant (it needs to go anyway--its crowding my rangoon creeper) and leaving the others alone as if they had the pox. Go figure?.,...
Clearly you need to apply hot pepper/cayene pepper to keep the rodents away. Cats never bother me and I have never had this sort of problem w/ dogs before, it's just this neighborhood; I think if I could sit out there w/ a pellet gun I'd shoot the SOB who lets the dog out of the house w/o leash or owner; possibly it is 1 of the other 3 big dog owners, they keep their dogs on leashes but I notice that none ever brings plastic bags or whatever to clean up after their dogs! May have to shoot those dog owners too- and I don't dislike dogs, honestly I have one of my own, but come on letting your dog use another person's yard as their personal bathroom is just a bit rude, don't you think?
I had been cleaning it up and being nice but lately have just started flinging- well that's a bit of an exageration, shoveling it into the street. I figure people will get tired of me doing it because they have to see it and maybe the HOA will contact me and then I will sick them on the 2 dog owners that I know/suspect.
I was going to get cayenne pepper at the grocery store--I think I only have hot pepper flakes.
April,
I can agree with you on that one! We just had a new family move in with a snippy little poodle. They just open the front door and let it out to roam EVERY DAY. He pees and poops in everyone's yard. We've had neighbors ask us who's dog it is. We always tell them. One neighbor screamed and was cussing about the dog in her front yard when he was over there to pee. The owner was actually out, several houses down, just watching??? The neighbor told her to keep her dog in or she'd let her rottreiler out. LOL.
After getting fed up with it, DH going over and explaining the local laws about leashes and getting apologies but NO ACTION, I now pick up the poop and leave it at the owners house for them. He is out less but still out.
And I love dogs. But this one just yaps at you and doesn't listen.
That dog must keep fast company with my 17 year old....she doesn't listen either--but I have yet to hear her yap. lol
Hello, Ladies. I lived on a corner lot back in Chicago.
To make things worse, there was a fire hydrant out
in front. Well, you can imagine the rest ....
everybody who walked their dogs would stop and
leave a deposit. Yelling and pleading didn't work.
You must learn to be devious and terrify the dogs
so that they will pull the owners away from your
property. After I did the following, NOBODY'S dog
even wanted to walk past on my side of the street.
Go to Google, type in "coyote urine" and you will
solve your problem. You can also get the urine of
other predators, if you prefer; however, do NOT
spray it inside your own yard or you will frighten
your own dogs. Sprinkle just a bit in the areas
where dogs are prone to leave a mess - just be
sure you don't get any on yourself or on your
shoes or clothes, or you will scare the heck out
of your dogs and cats. Also, be sure you wash
your hands outside so that you don't bring the
scent inside that way.
OK - nobody snicker - if you have a healthy male
in the house (the more testosterone, the better)
have them give you a "sample" of urine in a jar
and pour that on the problem areas. This will
also work - for those who do not wish to purchase
coyote urine.
The reason you need urine from an agressive
animal or person (same thing?) is that a dog
can tell the sex and status within the pack, as
well as the general health condition of the
urinating party, and that determines if it is
safe to stop and piddle there. If they sense
a predator, they will pull on the leash to move on.
You can also buy cougar urine, etc...
I got this solution from a friend who worked at
Lincoln Park Zoo, and it worked just fine.
Just don't use female urine, unless you throw
a zip-locked bag of it out of the car window
late one night on the lawn of the inconsiderate
and uncooperative dog owner. 'Nuff said.
Good night, and good luck.
Funny thing is, April and I know just where to find that coyote urine too.......lol
That stuff was rather pricey too.
Debbie
Mahnot! I was telling Debbie that I'd read something about that and we do know where to find it!! This morning walked out and yet again another dog pile! I too live on a corner lot and have a fire hydrant! I have narrowed it down to 5 different dogs, only one is out w/o an owner- the others are on leashes w/ owners in tow! Don't get me wrong I like dogs well enough but I would never allow my dog to go in someone's yard- I haven't gone to the neighbors about it yet only because the only one I am sure of is the dog who's out alone- however, he is a medium size dog and based on empirical evidence, he is not the only perpitrator! When my kids wanted a dog they wanted a huge dog and I told them that if we got a huge dog they would be responsible for cleaning up the yard. I told them my theory on dogs: big dog = big poop; small dog = small poop. Since I am the clean up crew we have a small dog! LOL. Anyway there is clearly a big dog using my yard!
Manhot thanks for the info! I know my husband would be more than willing to give a sample and as for the female urine, well maybe my neighbor's lawn will receive a golden shower, so to speak. LOL.
That stuff was $19.99 but other places may be cheaper--also we didn't read how to apply--that bottle might last 30 years. If it works on dogs; most likely will also work on rabbits, rodents, squirrels as well.
I think this view was worth the ant bites--really gives a good place for the clerondendrum ugandense to shine. Its right in the 'opening'.
Debbie
Which, after being frozen to the ground in late Feb, has finally decided to reward me with blooms.
This has nothing to do with coyotes (2 or 4 legged varieties--and I know planty of the 2 legged variety), fire ants, dogs, or any other previously discussed topics but since its my thread and I never care where the discussion leads; here is an interesting old plum tree (I did not plant this tree--a coyote did? lol) stump growing interesting fungi as it decomposes. I thought this was going to be an 'eyesore' in the garden because its right near a stepping stone path, but I think its beginning to look kinda cool.
Nice view!!! still I am sure you could have done w/o the ant bites. I like the fungi as well. My grandson and I are always checking out interesting fungi and other growing stuff. Your yard- at least that that I can see from the photos that you've posted lookes wonderful! Good job Deb!
The tree stump looks like a sculpture - neat !
Your garden is very well laid out, and I love the
way your eye is now led to look beyond the
fence and invites you to explore further, which
is what every gardening magazine tells you
to do. Congratulations.
As for the coyote urine, 2 bottles the first year;
however, once the neighborhood dogs got the
idea that it was not a safe area for them to stop,
there was no further need to buy any more.
The woman across the street from me used to
pretend that her dogs "got out" of the yard,
and she'd blame her kids for not closing the gate,
but those darned dogs would come over when the
kids were in school and at 3 AM too. Pretty shifty
dogs to be able to open the gate themselves.
She had 2 big golden retrievers, so you can just
imagine how mad I got. No - not mad. Only dogs
get mad. People get angry. Anyways, I was plenty
POd.
It might be worth your while to go to a men's gym
and ask for a regular "contribution" LOL
Thank you Mahnot--I call it 'art de' fungi' or 'low budget program yard art'
As far as suggesting to April "It might be worth your while to go to a men's gym
and ask for a regular "contribution"--I'd sure like to be a 'fly on the wall' for that encounter! April please don't throw any zuchinni at me!
OK--it was a lovely evening; actually the weather has been bearable down here--no higher than 90 in the day for highs (remember last June?--100 degrees in Houston is really hot) so I thought to myself (first mistake) I'd go out and deadhead all the zinnias hoping to prolong their life....
