Fire ants ARE in Tennessee, and have been for years. I live just south of Memphis, and can attest that they are a big problem in our area!
Ants in compost
I know at one point there was a big effort to keep them from crossing the Tennessee River. Apparently, they outsmarted all efforts.
Just keep mixing those mounds. The are as mean to each other as they are to us.
I didn't realize they would fight if you mixed them. I'm gonna try that.
I tryed that, and noticed that I got more mounds, then I read about fire ants.When a mound is disturbed, there is at least three potential queens per mound, and they go in different directions, and begin new mounds.So now we have four-six more mounds than we once had.The reason they are not digging during this drought is the same reason we are not digging, because the dirt is harder to dig in.You who mix your mounds be sure to look around for new mounds after a nice well needed rain.I promise you will find some.We have a problem and need wisdom to cope with it, and know that the ants have few natural preditors, and some time that can be worse, like for instance armadilo's. Mike
Whoops, guess I need to learn how to link here. There is a video on you tube of ants floating. They get into a big ball and float until they find dry land.
I guess my mixing efforts were only making it worse. I know that flooding piles won't get rid of them but it makes them move on to somewhere else (out of sight out of mind). My mom likes the method of pouring boiling water on the piles. Evil laughter is required while doing this, yelling DIE! DIE! is optional :)
My kids enjoy putting small piles of leaves and sticks on them, stepping down on the pile quickly and then lighting the leaves. I think that is more about country kid boredom though.
Mike: Im sure you are right, even though I haven't seen the new mounds. I haven't seen fire ants at all during this drought, but I have seen a lot of regular ants. The fire ant queens are way down in there and they are protected by the other ants. I don't think boiling water is going to still be boiling by the time it gets down to the queens.
I have a steamer and I tried steaming the fire ant mounds. I also have used a propane torch. That doesn't work either.
There has been a systematic program of using Amdro here. I think there are fewer mounds along the highways, but they may just be hiding.
Many will be out and working after a good rain.BTW they can come from under the ground, and build a mound.Mike
Is it too late in the year to put our ant bait? I was out today and noticed some working. I surely would like to get rid of them~!
Ants are valuable creatures, but not in your oatmeal.
Adds texture - a little crunch?
i don't like chitterlings (chit'lins) and I don't like chitin, isn't that what ants are made of? I mean in my oatmeal.
This message was edited Nov 5, 2007 5:41 AM
To the best of my knowledge, it's pork intestines, fried?
Fried intestines a pig? This conversation is becoming gruesome! I think id prefer ants...
Or boiled.
This message was edited Nov 5, 2007 9:42 AM
Many sausages are stuffed in these intestines, like Brats, etc. I believe it is just the small intestine.
Okay, this is enough of this. :)
Ants are looking mighty nice about now, except for the fire ants.
The most effective time to get rid of the ants is to spread a good bait in the early spring.If you use amdro, do it sparingly it goes a long way.I tell my daughter that if she sees the bait, it might be too heavy.Mike
I am going to mark my calendar for March next year, and get some Amdro! Thanks.
I nearly always have fire ants in my compost piles. That is just what they are, compost piles. I just pile the stuff up and let it rot away. No turning, no extra water, no measuring brown and green. At eighty years I am not in physical condition to do all these piddling little things that are beneficial I am certain. I eventually (about one year after) get a pretty good compost without any work except the piling on.
I don't worry about the fire ants, or any other insect, in the pile. I figure they are making tunnels which will help the pile. I do despise fire ants in other locations and Orthene Fire Ant dust will get rid of them. It is a white powder which stinks like hell and you spread about two tablespoons of it on and around the fireant nest. They are gone by the next day. Did it kill them or just relocate them to my neighbors property? I don't really care because they likely came from my neighbors property anyway, along with most of the weeds in my garden.
Good neighbors (which I do not have so far as gardening is concerned) are much better than chemicals but are much rarer.
LOL, elcuervo!
I have an area of my woods where I have been spreading wood chips on the ground from cleaning out invasive brush. I also have a big pile of chips that has been there since last year. As soon as I walk out there the ants start climbing up my legs. It was almost unbearable back in the middle of summer, but since the arrival of fall their numbers have decreased a little. I don't think mine are fire ants. They are regular black ants but they will bite.
Gloria, there's nothing worse than throwing out 40 pounds of dogfood that is infested with ants. Talk about mad!
FlowrLady, I agree that Fire ants are up your way now. I had a friend in Holly Springs that had them in his yard.
Escambiaguy: Re: ants. Not in your oatmeal, and not in your dogfood or catfood.
My animals used to eat out side. Now they have to come in for supper to get away from the ants. I take their food that has ants in it, put it in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer to kill the ants. They don't like dead ants in their food either though, but they will eat it if they get hungry enough. They just shuffle around the kibble so the frozen ants fall to the bottom of the dish. What a battle!
I've heard that the Orange oil and Mollasses work well. Now a days you can find both at your big box stores.
Dean
elcuervo, I like your style of composting. It IS just as effective, may take a bit longer, but you get the same end result. There are certainly times that I don't feel like turning the pile, or get too busy to mess with it. It's always there when I go back to it.
Around here, fireants will take over everything. I don't believe they are harmful to the plants, but they sure can harm the gardener! I've seen toxic and allergic reactions to their stings, that were life threatening in elderly people and small children. They can do a lot of damage with stinging. It is best to use whatever one must use to keep them out of the yard. Otherwise, none of the garden can be tended.
Here's a picture of a Fire Ant pile on the perimeter of my compost pile. It popped up last night.
Dean
I have a small flowerbed around my mailbox, about 4' x 4'. The dirt is about four inches higher than it used to be, pushed up by the fire ants. I am afraid to tend the flowers and soil. So it's Amdro for me next spring. I've just gotta reclaim my flower bed!
Amdro will do it Flowerlady.Just scatter thinly around the mailbox, and they will carry it to queenie, and host. Mike
Thanks, Mike. I'm tired of them... they always bite me when I'm not looking! I love to kick the dirt and see them scurrying with the uncovered eggs.
When they get into my compost, I take a long tin can, and lay it in the compost where the ants can get to it, and the worms can't.The ants will go in the can, and take the bait to the hole, and I get rid of the ants, but the worms go unharmed.Good luck, but wait till early spring. Mike
I like using Green Light Ant killer...http://www.greenlightco.com/organic_lawn_care.htm
Ya'll be careful with those buggers around your compost pile if you're using your dirt for food crops. Be sure to read the packages and make sure you're not in danger of plants taking up the poison from the compost.
heres the link again... http://www.greenlightco.com/organic_lawn_care.htm its organic so no risk of residual contamination that I know of.
I appreciate the link, Dean. Something that I ask you to keep in mind is that it doesn't have to be man-made to be deadly - I know that you know that, but organic means *nothing* when it comes to poisons.
And to be perfectly honest, I don't believe much of what a company puts out in it's literature. They might actually believe it and it still be wrong. Who knew what problems we would later have with asbestos (real or overblown)? I know you can take this concept way too seriously and make life really difficult, but using a product that kills a species around compost that you grow food in is a little too close for me. You may be perfectly fine with that, & that's cool. And if all you grow is roses, it doesn't matter at all.
Pagancat,
I still fill comfortable enough w/ it. The Fire Ant Killer that is, though I haven't used any ,yet. I would prefer using the orange oil or Mollasses. Bottom line is, if your compost pile is maintaing correct temps. you shouldn't have a problem w/ ants.
Dean
Yeah, just no barefoot composting!
Gosh, if ya can't go barefoot when ya compost poor Horseshoe will never have any black gold to play in!
Thanks for the link.
Dean: Was the fire ant pile in the picture made in just one night?! WOW! Ive never seen fire ants before by the way. I dont think we have them in NZ.
Lena
Lena,
Yes, one night! I don't think you have them in New Zeland either. You probally have some different kind of ants, huh? I no they got some vicisious ones in Australia.