Unfortunately, it is not one that anyone wants to set.
I set up my composter on Saturday. Today when I went to stir it, I found fire ants. That has got to be a record for them to set up in that short of a period of time, so now the question is how to get rid of them without poisoning the pile. I am hoping to use the compost on my vegetable garden.
I did stir it up really well and took some blackstrap molasses and diluted it with water and poured it on the pile also and stirred it up well. I know that doesn't kill them, but since they are supposed to not like it and it is supposed to help heat up the pile, I figured it was at least something to do.
I have tried several organic solutions and seem to mostly be chasing them around the yard. I am assuming that beneficial nematodes can't be used in the pile due to the heat (or the heat that I hope will be there soon). I think DE only works when it is dry, so that wouldn't be the answer. Orange oil kills the earthworms (which I don't have yet, but I don't know about residual effects). Of course, it is not just in the pile that I have ants, so I am thinking of trying beneficial nematodes on the rest of the yard. Can they be used in the vegetable beds? Maybe if I could control them in the rest of the yard, I could keep them out of the pile.
Although I really want to avoid it, I am on the verge of calling a pest control company to treat everything except the vegetable beds. I am soooooo sick of ants! Seems like everywhere I start to dig I find them!
Help please!
Okay, I think I set a record!
I would think the beneficial nematodes would be fine in the vegetable bed since it only affects ants/termites type bugs. They might die when the pile heats up, but so would the ants. I have a similar problem with two bags of pine straw and a few other spots in the garden. This year I tried "Nature's Guide Mound Drench" for $10 at Houston Garden center. It has orange oil, molasses and compost tea in it. I didn't realize orange oil would harm the earthworms, but it sure got rid of a mound right where I wanted to plant next. I have been waiting for it to rain, and the ants to clearly mark their mounds, before hitting the other ant piles. I was pleased with the BN last year, but after the dry ice and overnight shipping they were about $50. Let me know if you know of a place in Houston that sells them.
Tabitha
We spray our compost pile with nematodes and they do fine. I would also recommend the mound drench. We've had some success with that, combined with the molasses.
Thanks for the response. We have a Houston Garden Center near me. I have been using orange oil, blackstrap molasses and a squeeze of dish soap. It definitely kills some, but it seems that they still manage to just move around some.
It is kind of funny. I don't treat for really anything in my yard. I squish a few cucumber beetles and grubs, but other than that, I really try to live and let live, but I swear I think I would turn this place into a toxic waste dump over ants. Hate them!
Orange oil breaks down pretty fast, so if you don't have earthworms yet, you probably don't have to worry about that. I don't have a lot of luck with it for fire ants, but it works pretty well in my house. There's a Gardenville product called AnteFuego (hope I spelled that right) that is supposed to be pretty good.
I always heard that Splenda(the sugar substitute) was a fire ant killer. I've never used it, but people swear by it...
Then, again, if it is going on compost that you will use in an edible garden, maybe not a good thing. It is still on shelves, and people do still consume it, but I'd never go near the stuff,...if it is a poison to ants, seems it could be a poison to us, too :0)
Alright, well the Molasses didn't seem to phase them at all. Yesterday, I bought some Green Light Fire Ant Killer with Conserve because my understanding is that it isn't quite as toxic as some. Now my question is if I put it around the outside of the composter and the ants take it inside and hopefully die, will it make my compost unfit for veggies? The back of the bag said it was suitable for vegetable garden less than 1 acre. Also, I am assuming that I can't actually put it in the compost even if it is suitable for veggies, right?
I read that list that texasrockgarden posted, and looks like the boiling water would be the safest way for your compost pile if you intend to use it on veggies
I used diatomacous earth and it seem to do well on quite a few insects including the ants. I don't know however, if it harmed beneficial insects as well. Another thing I did was took a TBSP of bleach to a gallon of water and poured it over my compost a few weeks before I added it to my garden. I have heard that the bleach will just turn to salt after it is exposed and broke down. I still had earthworms in the compost so I don;t quess it hurt them. I am really anxious to try the mollases.
I poured the boiling water on them yesterday. The biggest challenge is actually finding where they are building the mound. I think the answer is in the stuff I have put in. Guess we will see if it does any good. I am sure that I didn't get them all. Now we are supposed to have rain for several days, so I guess they will get to do their thing until the weekend when I can go and harrass them again.
Also, should I be turning my pile once a week or is more frequently better or not? I have been mixing it up because I have been dealing with the ants, but I don't want to be counterproductive to the decomposition.
TIA.
I bought Green Light Fire AntKiller with Conserve. I put it out today on a mound that showed up after our recent rains. I watched as three ants immediately pick up pieces and started dragging them underground. Oh yeah! Go ahead, plenty for everyone! LOL!
Once you get rid of the fire ants, try planting mums around your pile, looks ok, and the ants dont want to cross them. i found this out several years ago when I had a bad fire ant infestation. The only place they stayed out of was a couple of beds that I had mums planted around the outside edge of the bed. They would mound right out side of the boards that the bed was framed with, but would not cross the mums. So I did some research at that time and found a few recipes, where you put mum leaves in a blender with water I think, and used this to treat the mounds. It worked, but I have since lost the info. I have not had to much of a problem since. I usualy use DE to spot treat, as long as it is not raining, which is most of the time.