I just read this article on this site and wonder if it would work on fire ants. I might be willing to try it. Don't this it can hurt and it is less toxic than most anything else I can come up with. Now I just need to come up with that quantity of bay leaves. If anyone has tried this, please let me know if it worked or not.
http://reviews.ebay.com/CARIBOUCOLLECTIBLES-BAY-LEAF-TEA-ANT-REMEDY_W0QQugidZ10000000000831773
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Bay Leaf "Tea" Remedy for Ants
Bay leaf has been used as a natural insecticide. It has been used to keep out the little bug that show up in staples (flour, rice, cereal, boxed mixes, etc.).
Take a large stock pot or canning kettle, add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of salt, and a handful of bay leaves. (NOTE: buy them at a food co-op or look online because you can get them cheaper than in a grocery store.) Bring to a rolling boil and let simmer for several hours. The longer it simmers the more potent the tea.
Take the hot "tea" to the ant colony. Coat the colony. Use the "tea" to "draw" a line of demarcation around their colony; around your house, etc. Repeat a couple of weeks later, just to be sure. One treatment may do it. If you use it on your garden plants, DON'T put boiling water on them; go for the ant nests or the ground; let the mix cool somewhat so it doesn't hurt the roots. REMEMBER: peonies need ants to bloom.
Cooking it creates a very strong smell - not bad when you consider that it's only affecting the insects. The vapor and steam will take care of any creatures that may be in your house.
This is safe for kids and pets (except pet ants!)
Fire Ants: Any suggestions?
For an organic fire ant control, this past summer I used Orange Guard. It was quite effective on the areas where applied. Orange Guard is made from orange peel extract and is completely safe to use in the kitchen, around pets and people. It's kind of expensive so I didn't use as much as directed and still was successful in eleminating MANY ant mounds. Haven't seen any more pop up yet......we'll see how it goes when the weather warms up? We put some in a spray bottle with water and used around the patio to keep the mosquitos away too.
I found the jug and there is a website listed: www.orangeguard.com
I believe that's how I found where to purchase in my area.
Thanks. I have been fighting the same ants in one area of my flowerbeds for about a year. This year, my 2 year old will be spending more time in the yard and I want to do my best to eliminate them (yeah, I know, it's a pipe dream to get rid of fire ants) without putting down anymore toxic stuff than possible. That's why I wondered if the bay leaf tea might work.
Yes, I had ants everywhere too, I mean not just at the mounds, they were crawling all over the ground!! I'll probably give the tea a try if I have a problem this year.
Also did the grits and it works pretty good but then many smaller mounds seemed to pop up in other places? Tried DE, it also helped. Then I mixed the DE with the grits for a double wammy. I would put it near the mound and when I checked back, no activity. But small ant mounds were still all over. Orange Guard instructs you to tube the liquid down into the mound, which I did but with less than recommended and then sprayed the tops of the mounds. On the smallest mounds, I would just spray the top. Haven't seen any mounds pop up since and haven't seen any ants crawling around.
Did not know peonies needed ants to bloom. Although they are my favorite flower, I don't have any yet but plan to asap.
I am going to look at Lowe's tomorrow and see if I can get the Orange Guard. Not really sure how you tube it into the mound. Do I just stick a stick in and then pour the liquid in the whole? I have several other mounds that are smaller that I will likely just spray them.
Yes, I think I used a broom handle to puncture the mound (down about 6" or so) and then poured in enough to saturate the area. You can also delute with water to make it go further.
Thanks so much for the information. Just want to have an idea of what I am trying to accomplish since I don't want to have to hang around and mess with them any longer than necessary. Kinda figure they are not going to be too happy!!
Oh yeah, spray around the mound first without disturbing them, then stand back and puncture with broom handle, douse and run!!!!! If you have a pressurized sprayer you can use that.....but I didn't have one so just had to do without!!
Hey, ya'll, since I have my cat, and can't use the usual toxins, I sprinkle corn meal, or regular grits on every container, and ant trail. It worked like a charm, the little buggers just picked up the cornmeal, and grits, took them home, and the rest is history! I could not believe my eyes, seems like they eat them, and explode, can't digest them. What ever, as long as it worked, I don't have to worry about my cat walking in it, and licking his feet. I have a wrap around porch, which had a walk around ant trail, that went into every plant container. Boy, how easy is that! Thanks, Krispi
Sterling_tx, I told a few friends about the grits & some came back swearing it's THE BEST thing they do to get rid of fire ants. Only don't put it down when the garden is wet or it's been raining or it depletes the purpose!
Thanks so much for the idea, I see the fire ants are getting active now with our warmer weather so I am going to go out & buy grits!!!
I think I will have to try the grits this year, the organic poison remedy that I buy called Results is just too expensive.
Josephine.
We tried the grits and ....... nothing. Just fertilizer for fire ants as far as we could see.
Ann
Well Shoot!! it looks like not all fire ants react the same way, what has worked for you Ann?
absolutely nothing.......
Ann
I used the orange guard and diacematous earth (that isn't spelled right, but maybe close enough). Either one didn't seem to work, but both together seemed to do better. Also, the mounts I treated with the diluted orange guard didn't seem affected, but a huge one that I treated with the full strength stuff and dia earth is not unoccupied now. I don't fool myself that I got them all, I'm sure they just moved, but maybe I got a few of them anyway. The Lowe's near me only had the small bottle of Orange Guard and it was $10. Online you can order the gallon jug for $22. Of course, you do have to pay shipping, but it is works, then to me, it is worth it.
Has no one tried my foolproof method that I mentioned back in September? Honestly, it does work - fast! - and it's organic and inexpensive. A kettle of boiling water poured into the entry hole kills the queen and collapses the mound. By pouring carefully at the one spot you avoid injury to nearby vegetation. For very large mounds a second kettle is good insurance.
Last season there were only two mounds`here - and not for very long!
Yes, I love the boiling water method, and I use it around the house when the mound is in the open, but a lot of the nests are in the flower beds among the plants, also at the fielder butterfly garden there is no way to boil water, so I am trying to find something that won't hurt the plants. I have also tried undiluted vinegar, and that works great, but again not in a flower bed, so I keep searching.
I would be happy to try the boiling water, but unfortunately, all of the mounds I have are in plants that I have. I was trying to avoid killing the plants,but I guess it might be worth it if they are actually gone. May try it this weekend. Thanks for reminding me.
Yuska, where the heck is the entry hole? I just see solid mounds.
Hmmm...it may not be evident right now if the ants are still inactive because of lower winter temps. They tend to hibernate. As the weather strengthens toward spring, the worker ants will begin their forays out for food for the colony, and the spot where they leave and enter is usually near the center top. A very large mound with more than one queen may have two or three entries. Just watch the ants as they trail in and out.
Frostweed and shuggins, why not try an experiment? Choose a mound and direct a strong spray of water from the hose to drown them. It will take more water than the boiling method would need, and it will disturb nearby plantings to some degree but not likely to kill the plants. A day or two later if the mound is completely inactive the plants can be gently eased back into position.
Be sure to stand well back of the mound when you start the water spray. The ants will go into a frenzy and will be anxious to sting. They look for softer, more humusy soil to build in because it's easier to tunnel. They also like compost heaps, especially those that are nearly "finished."
The plastic sleeves from newspapers can be used to cover hands and arms when working in an area of danger. Haven't figured out a way to protect feet and ankles, though. The miserable stings can be soothed with dabs of chlorine bleach, but relief usually takes about ten minutes.
Good advice I will try some of that too.
We used the boiling water method all the time but it doesn't work anymore..I have a poison that works & is safe for the environment..I just want to see if the grits work too. My friend who lives in the area swears by that.
I have fire ants that are NOW active IN my garden!!!!!!!!
Hey girls, This is not an INSTANT cure. I use Both, the GRITS, & the CORNMEAL, seems as if some do not like one, maybe they will pick up the other. Did you notice if the grits or cornmeal disappear? If it disappears, they are taking it back to their bed, just keep feeding it to them, they cannot digest either, and that is what kills them. Also, when they sting me, I spray ammonia full strength on the bites. It stops the stinging, and they do not blister up. If you SCRATCH YOURSELF FIRST, and then spray the AMMONIA on the bites, it will burn like HECK. Just trying to be helpful. Krispi PS, I also heard about mixing the ants from one bed, with the ants from another, and they kill each other off. The only problem with that, is all of my beds are under the house. Another one, is Guinnea flow love ants, and will just jump and down in the middle of an ant bead, and just gobble them up. This is a funny sight! I had bought 4 of them in Houston, and they did eat my ANT beds up.
This message was edited Jan 23, 2009 9:06 PM
I wish I could have Guinnea fowl but we live in a community park so they wouldn't be allowed!!! They would certainly be kept busy though! hahahaha
Regardless of any bait type product, Amdro, grits, cornmeal, etc., my experience in treating fire ants has been to wait for a dry period. Three to four days after a rain or sprinklers is best. I have not tried Spinosad yet, but lived on the Guadalupe River for about six years on five acres with a large river bottom area. I could treat the whole place with a half pound of Amdro if I applied it under the right conditions and that would last about a month. Takes a couple weeks for the mounds to die out completely. I guarantee that there can be dozens of queens in a mound, not just one or two.
Typically, on a warm or hot, dry day around 9am or 3pm was the best time to apply as they seem to be out en masse foraging. The drier period has them searching farther for food. I would very sparingly sprinkle or broadcast it. I found that under these conditions less was best. Sprinkling on the mound was less effective than a foot or so away from the mound for some odd reason. Seemed as if the critters thought they found a bonus and would scoop it up and run back to the mound. Application directly to the mound would often be ignored.
I also used a pump sprayer for liquid applications on big mounds and quick kills. Pump it up with a lot of pressure and start spraying as you push down into the center of the mound to avoid clogging. Generally the center or core of a large mound can reach 2-3 feet in depth and is honeycombed, so using the up and down method a couple of times was best. Although the Diazinon was toxic, I didn't have much choice in the 80's for large, massive quick kills, or time to wait for the die off. I would highly dilute the concentrate, one teaspoon to five gallons of water, and even highly diluted kills the darn critters.
Fire ants do not drown, they float. The worst times were after a heavy rain, the last place you want to be is on or around the river bottom. You quickly learn what the word angry, vicious, hateful, and spiteful come to mean about the temperament of fire ants. The only thing you accomplish by flooding a mound is causing them to move elsewhere.
Chuck
that's right Chuck .... I get a lot of mounds as I live in a community park so I can't control ALL of them, just what's in my area & I am guaranteed to get them back the next year!! I used to have a pest control company come & do all over but I am trying to attract butterflies now so that is not an option.
There was a flood in Dallas some years ago and the newspaper showed huge balls of fire ants floating everywhere. It was as big a hazard for the rescuers as the snakes in the water. Watching closely for a solution. I don't have mounds but a back ant that makes a flat mound in the grass and I have stings all the time. Have at least a dozen right now from working in the yard last week when it was warm. They are on you before you even know they are in the area. Tried broadcasting the Over and Out but didn't get a good result.
Will try to put in a link to Texas A&M about fire ants.
www.fireant.tamu.edu/broadcastbait/index.cfm
This message was edited Jan 27, 2009 1:58 PM
Having bad lucky with links today.
thanks for the link Lou...I will consider it if nothing else is working...I want to first try the Grits. :0)
This is the one you were trying to link to I think.
http://fireant.tamu.edu/
Thank you, Sheila. I am obviously doing something wrong.
Cindy,
You can try the grits, but the best is a broadcast bait spread under the conditions I mentioned. Amdro still seems to be high on the A&M list as one of the quickest and most effective. Grits may kill the ants, but you have to ensure that the bait gets to the queens. Amdro seems to work very well in this respect. The queen(s) are highest in the food chain order so they get the best foodstuffs. The less is best rule applies, which is why broadcasting baits is highly effective.
The broadcast baits will not harm butterflies or bees. I would get enough to spread it out a couple hundred feet or more from your fence line in the park area. Chip in with your neighbors and split the cost. This will insure a zone that will take some time for them to migrate to your yard. When they move a mound, it is generally within a six to ten foot range maximum unless there is a good food source to attract them farther distances. On larger colonies they generally do not move unless forced. All bets are off in a swarm where they can travel on the winds for very long distances.
The most important application time is early spring just before, or about two weeks after the swarm. The ground temperatures and moisture reach an optimal level when new queens are released from the mounds to start new colonies. If you're in a high infestation area, usually mid morning and outside, you'll know it when they swarm. Waiting a couple of weeks after the swarm gives the new colonies enough time to set up house keeping and have some workers foraging for food.
Chuck
I would caution you against Amdro simply because it also kills the native ants also. Ants have a very important purpose. If you start killing beneficial insects then you are shooting yourself in the foot if your goal is to establish a balance in your yard. Nature hates a void, so if there are no ants, fire ants will move back in. They won't compete with a healthy population of native ants. This is what I understood Howard Garrett to say and since we switched to organics we very rarely see fire ants. We have a large lot and there are still spots we haven't treated, but they have not moved back into spots that were treated with AntieFuego (a Howard Garrett product.) It's expensive, but it works. We also follow up with beneficial nematodes about every other year.
You're correct in that respect about Amdro and native ants. However, I may be wrong but the only native ants that kill fire ants are the larger red and leafhopper ants. The smaller black native ants can not compete with the fire ants. I've seen open fields around DFW area that are so infested livestock or native wildlife can't even hang around. There's been a decline in the rabbit, quail and other ground critter populations in S. Texas in areas they have infested after moving in.
When it's very dry you don't tend to see the mounds. That also might be the case in Central and South Texas right now since you haven't had much rain the past year. At least that was my experience in that area.
There is only one benefit to fire ants I know of - they will wipe out any termites or termite colonies in their vicinity.
However, some people are highly allergic or have small kids. In those cases the preference is for no ants, and the I can't blame them about creating a void for self protection.
Chuck
I'm not sure about this because it's been awhile since I've had time to listen to Howard's show, but I think he said if you can get the native ants back in your yard the fire ants will stay out because they don't like the smell of the natives. That sounds really strange, but that's what DH says he remembers hearing on the show.
As far as allergies to stings, if you are highly allergic to all ants I guess there is a big problem. But my experience has been most native ants will leave you alone. It's the fire ants that attack in swarms. I do find ants when I'm digging in my beds. They will swarm in the spot where I'm digging as if to see who I am and then leave. I guess they go deeper. I just wait a bit and let them calm down and then go back to digging. I get stung once in awhile, but usually just once.
I have a hard time believing that about natives and smell keeping fire ants out. It might be true with regards to the red ants territory, that they won't invade the immediate area around a red ant nest, but not the whole yard. I've had both of them in fairly close proximity to each other. The natives don't really attack or swarm even when disturbed, but will occasionally bite but their sting is minor compared to fire ants.
Chuck
Some of you have suggested nematodes. What the heck is a nematode and how do you apply them? I got a gardeners catalog today and they had nematodes in them.
I know there is a lot of terminte infestation in our area but I don't see the fire ants taking care of the problem as we have a lot of infestation of those as well..will the grits hurt the native ants?? I have native ants in my garden as well, only a small amount & I don't want to hurt them.
Thank you so much for all the advise it really is interesting to learn & I will be trying some of these remedies this year.
It's not that the fire ants go looking for the termites as a food source. Primarily it's if the termites get too close, or if the fire ants are relocating into an area where termites are grouped per se will they attack the termites. Termites are a territorial enemy, not a food source.
Chuck