fire ants. How do i get rid of fire ants?
Answers:
Ugh, I hear you, Florida is awful for fire ants. Here's what I have for you:
The first step is to get rid of anything that's attracting them. Sugar and other sweets, and greases or fats of any kind are usually the major attractants. A lid on the sugar bowl won't stop them (as you probably know), so use air tight containers for that and cookies, cakes and the like. Don't leave greasy pans or platters more than a few minutes. Wipe cabinets and floors with a cup of vinegar in a couple of quarts of water.
The second step is to put a barrier between the ants and you. Anything in crystal or flake form can be used to deter them. Salt, black pepper, red pepper, talcum powder... the list goes on. (Used coffee grounds are said to be especially effective, even against fire ants.) Why does this work? Imagine yourself faced with a shoulder high snow drift that's too soft to hold your weight. Would you go through it if you didn't have to? Neither would I!
Thirdly, attack their hills. Pour boiling water down the main entrance to each hill you can find. Use at least a gallon to each hill. You might have to do this two or three times, but it will work. You can try borax mixed with flour around the base of your house or near their hills, but boiling water is cheaper, safer and more efficient, as ants are selective about what they eat.
Ants don't care for mint or citrus, cloves or bay leaves, so think orange peel, peppermint tea, lemon juice, ground cloves, etc. If you can plant mint around the foundations of your home, you may deter them from entering. Vinegar has the same acid as citrus, so use it to clean with and ants won't feel welcome. (It probably erases or overpowers the odor trail other ants have left for them to follow.)
Bucketing fire ant colonies
This is one of the simplest ways of dealing with one or two problem colonies. Basically, the procedure is to rapidly dig the mound and a foot or so of soil under the mound and dump it into one or several large buckets. Sprinkling the bucket and shovel with baby powder or cornstarch before you starts keeps the ants from climbing out of them. Remember to tuck your pants into your socks to keep the ants where you can see them.
Dig up the soil at a time of day when most of the colony is in the mound. In the spring, the best time is usually mid- to late morning. In the summer, it might be early morning.
Once the ants are in the bucket, you can choose to drown the ants or simply to carry them to some place where they are not a problem. If you choose to drown the ants, add a generous squirt of dish soap, water from a hose, and stir to mix the soap throughout the mud in the bucket. The soap breaks the surface tension and drowns the ants much more quickly. It usually takes overnight to kill the ants. In the heat of the summer, they will probably drown faster, but on cool days in the spring, it may take longer. It is best not to fill the buckets more than three-quarters full of ants and dirt so there is room to add the water.
Best wishes to you.
Other answers:
well i dont know about how to get rid of them. Just keep doing what you have been doing. Plus I heard that fire ants are an alien species to the environment. They were once in one area and moved to another. They reproduce exponentially and they became an annoyance in some states. Think you have it bad?
well i dont know about how to get rid of them. Just keep doing what you have been doing. Plus I heard that fire ants are an alien species to the environment. They were once in one area and moved to another. They reproduce exponentially and they became an annoyance in some states. Think you have it bad?
I have heard they are extemely difficult to get rid of, have you tried fire?