Getting rid of fire ants- major outbreak this year

[4horses]

I have never had fire ants this badly. They are in my barn under the hay bales, they are under my lawn mower, and there are ant piles out in the field, by the driveway… It’s the worst I have ever seen it.

I tried bait but didn’t see a vast improvement. Poured boiling water on the ones under the lawn mower and they rebuilt in a smaller nest in the same location.

Today I was attacked by wasps opening the gate, the same gate I open daily. Then went to move one of my horses and stepped in fire ants. Not really a mound but little tiny ant nests under the grass. I guess today is not my day.

Do white colors actually repel wasps? I’m not sure I believe that… And the ants have to go!

[ClassyJumper]

Someone here reccomend this: Extinguish Plus Fire Ant Bait-4.5 lb 55555354 https://a.co/d/98sXFOz

It has worked amazing here. They carry it back to the nest instantly and are gone pretty much the next day.

[JanM]

For Fire Ants I use granules from Walmart, called Eliminator, I think it’s one of their brands. I don’t follow the directions, I cover the mound with it, and the ants are gone. The grass survives it too. For wasps or hornets I use the wasp spray, it comes in a spray can, but it only works if you find a nest.

[LCDR]

FYI there are two types of Extinguish, Extinguish Plus and Extinguish Professional. Both contain an insect growth regulator (IGR) which is fed by the worker ants to the larvae and prevent the lava from developing into more workers. The Plus means that an insecticide is added to the IGR, so that it also kills off workers and works more rapidly. The Professional takes a month for the colony to slowly die off since no new workers are produced to feed the queen as the old workers age and die. Spreading rate is so minimal that I cannot see the granules on the ground, they are spread so sparsely. But a little goes a long way. I broadcast 2 pounds per acre, and have used both types.

Broadcasting works best since there are far more colonies that you cannot see than the ones that are already making elevated mounds.

[clanter]

@LCDR

But a little goes a long way. I broadcast 2 pounds per acre, and have used both types.

Broadcasting works best

the perimeter needs extra attention to help stop migration of new colonies into your place

[thatmoody]

@LCDR

FYI there are two types of Extinguish, Extinguish Plus and Extinguish Professional. Both contain an insect growth regulator (IGR) which is fed by the worker ants to the larvae and prevent the lava from developing into more workers. The Plus means that an insecticide is added to the IGR, so that it also kills off workers and works more rapidly. The Professional takes a month for the colony to slowly die off since no new workers are produced to feed the queen as the old workers age and die. Spreading rate is so minimal that I cannot see the granules on the ground, they are spread so sparsely. But a little goes a long way. I broadcast 2 pounds per acre, and have used both types.

Broadcasting works best since there are far more colonies that you cannot see than the ones that are already making elevated mounds.

We have a company that comes and broadcasts this stuff every 6 months. I haven’t seen a fire ant since they started (well, a couple of months after) but the armadillos are going nuts! Apparently the fire ants eat some sort of grub that armadillos love, and they are now proliferating!

[LCDR]

Yep, I do a perimeter run every couple of months.

My first year I hired the local “ant man.” Paid $600 for 5 acres and it took him about 15 minutes on his ATV.

So I bought a Herd brand seeder/spreader just like the one the “ant man” used for $400 and a 25 pound bag of Extinguish for $200 and have been doing it myself. 25 pounds gives me three spreadings each year.

An added bonus is that the seeder also sows my winter rye grass forage seeds every year.

[clanter]

@LCDR

Yep, I do a perimeter run every couple of months.

we just do it after a rain period which is not very often until Oct, summers here are usually dry

But we can get heavy summer rains, last July one day we got 9 1/2 inches in about 12 hours, afterwards had to put the fire ant killer down everywhere

(our land looks flat but does have a slope of about two degrees so water runs off easily)

[4horses]

We get a lot of rain here. How does the Extinguish do if it gets rained on?

[LCDR]

If the fire ants are in active scavenging mode they will pick it all up and carry it underground within an hour or so. So as long as it does not rain immediately there should be no effect of any later rain.

To make sure the fire ants are actively scavenging before broadcasting the bait, the directions say to put a potato chip near a visible mound. If the ants gather on it pretty quickly, you are good to go. The fire ant man I originally hired used a saltine cracker to do the same thing. I just use a bit of the bait itself to check ant activity.

[walkinthewalk]

I don’t recommend this method but Armadillos have taken up residence on our property. I’m not happy about it BUT along with grubs and such, I read they also eat ant larva. I have had a HUGE reduction in ant population since the armadillos showed up.

They make divots everywhere when rooting for grubs but they do their burrow tunneling against the fence posts. I’ll leave them be as long as I don’t start to see tunneling in the pastures.

[Jarpur]

The one good thing about fire ants is that there are no ticks where there are fire ants, at least around here. I used to board the dogs at a place several miles away, although much closer as the bird flies – no fire ants there, but terrible ticks. Owners jokingly asked if I could bring some fire ants over to colonize their place.

[LCDR]

I was a child when red fire ants were beginning to spread across the south from their accidental intriduction via the port of Mobile, Alabama around 1940. People were terrified to even go out to their maiboxes for fear that they would step on a mound at the mailbox post.

Now I have been alive long enough to see armadillos spread from Florida through Georgia and into Sourh Carolina. Fun fact- other than humans, it seems armadillos are the only animals that host leprosy and they can, but rarely, pass the mycobacterium to humans.

[SusanO]

I have all three - fire ants, ticks and armadillos. None of these are good and I have never seen signs that armadillos have been digging in fire ant beds to eat the ant larva. My theory is that “armadillos eat fire ants” is some urban legend perpetuated by PETA fans that have never actually dealt with armadillos. Fire ants do appear to go away/ disappear when the weather is unusually dry and we are in drought conditions. They are not gone - they have just gone deep underground where there is some some soil moisture and reappear full force when we get rain. Huge beds can pop up over night.

Don’t ever get me started on the evil destruction that armadillos are responsible for. Believe me - you don’t want them anywhere near your yard, lawn or house. Ditto for fire ants. I have used Amdro and it doesn’t get rid of the ants but can keep them under control if used diligently. Extinguish sounds like it might be better than Amdro. Most of the people that live out here in this rural area don’t try to control fire ants so that makes it harder for me to get rid of them.

Just don’t do like my deceased neighbor who was not the sharpest crayon in the box. He had a terrible problem with fire ants - they kept getting into his air conditioner and eating up the lines. Fire ants are drawn to electrical systems. So he went around pouring diesel fuel on the beds. It didn’t kill the ants. They just built a new bed close to the old bed and he had big oily spots all over his yard. Probably toxic too!

[Jarpur]

I found this helpful article:

Control Fire Ants in Pastures, Hayfields, and Barnyards | Mississippi State...