Fire Ant - and lots of them!

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Readyforapool

Readyforapool

0
Sep 17, 2013
702
DFW metroplex
So as some of you know we had quite a long wait to start landscaping due to the bad winter and my never ending, still in limbo scupper leak. That being said, I had bought 15 bags of mulch on sale and left it stacked near the beds behind the back wall of the pool. Went out this morning determined to get it all spread and found 5 of the bags teeming with fire ants. It would take an enormous amount of Amdro to kill them all and I can't even lift them to toss them in the garbage without being eaten alive! Any suggestions?
 
Your going to have to kill the ants or they will just relocate to your yard. Go to your local lawn and garden center and get something you can use in a pump up sprayer, cut open the bags and saturate the mulch.
 
I bet if you pulled all the good bags away and then sprinkled amdro on what is left that it would knock them out in a few days - a little goes a long way - remeber it's a bait so they just need some to eat and then die.
 
Fast kill -- boiling water. Will kill what's under, beware of tree roots.

Treat the whole yard with the Amdro or other sort of full yard 3 month treatment. then re-apply on schedule.
 
Thanks guys - I put some amdro around the bags then slit them all completely open and sprinkled some on them - hoping in a day or so I can finish the job. In the meantime, I'm calling a lawn service to have them do some spraying and fertilizing on the grass as well!
 

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oh Wow, that's Ants in your pool? I thought it was copper colored steel wool. I was like "well I don't know how that's related to ants..." HAHA

Wow. Sorry to display my ignorance of Ants floating abilities, but that's freaking nuts.

Ants love borax, and it loves to kill them. I think my grandmother would put borax in sugar water, but I don't really remember. I just buy this little thing of liquid borax, they go after it like it's the best thing ever. and then....they go away. I've used it on all types of ants, except for fire ants. I killed them with fire. :), or Amdro. Seems to work until it turns dark brown in the container...then it's trash.

Terro Liquid ant killer. (1oz bottle). a drop or 2 will get em dead. (in all honesty, this stuff is great on small ants, and/or Sugar ants).

TO show how badly I don't want to kill things. I had this colony of fire ants, or maybe it was a few colonies. It was MASSIVE...anyway. I let them live behind my backyard for about a year. I didn't want to kill them if they weren't hurting anything. Then, those little jerks betrayed my trust and crossed over my fence to get to my dogs food I assume. The actions of a few led to the destruction of them all.
 
I prefer a little more drastic measure to dealing with those things.
torch-em.jpg

3000 degrees of pure unadulterated fun. Okay so it *may* light your yard on fire...
flamthrower_smiley.gif
 
I make my own terro from boric acid (rat poison) and clear cheapo syrup. I never knew this worked on fire ants. Will have to try it out.
I hate those fire ants and am allergic. Found out the hard way few years back when got bit by 4 or 5 at once.
 
Seven Dust!!!! Of course it won't last through rain or for extended times but for quick kill sprinkle it over and around anything covered with fireants and it will kill them on contact..
 
I try really hard to use "environmentally friendly" treatments around my home, but when it comes to fire ants, I don't play. I like the Amdro stuff best for fire ants (and the terro stuff best if I have to break down and treat regular ants).

Did you get rid of them? How did you get them out of your pool? I actually worry about finding them in my pool some day.
 
Thanks guys - we used Amdro. I don't like it because of the dogs but it was the only thing that would do the job. Luckily, it wasn't me that had them in the pool but I would imagine they just fished them out with a net since they float! Mean little suckers!
 
Readyforapool said:
Thanks guys - we used Amdro. I don't like it because of the dogs but it was the only thing that would do the job. Luckily, it wasn't me that had them in the pool but I would imagine they just fished them out with a net since they float! Mean little suckers!
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Ooops! Sorry I thought they were yours in the pool. I hope Edge got them out OK. I would be afraid to fish them out - they move quick!
 
Personally, I think traditional Andro takes too long and has no residual. For larger areas, I prefer Over and Out which basically prohibits them suckers from living in that soil for about a year. For spot treatments, I think the Orthene is best.
 
dmann33 said:
Personally, I think traditional Andro takes too long and has no residual. For larger areas, I prefer Over and Out which basically prohibits them suckers from living in that soil for about a year. For spot treatments, I think the Orthene is best.
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You are right about the delay with Amdro. Unfortunately I have very small dogs who are grazers in the grass so I don't want to put anything all over the yard that might cause them issues. We use Amdro where we saw the mounds in the back and can ensure the dogs stay clear of it. After 27 years in the south we've decided the fire ants are just something you have to deal with, but seeing that many in those bags of mulch was scary! Luckily that was in the beds in the front yard and the dogs are always leashed out there.
 

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