Fire Ants
 

Along with every other pest how do I get rid of Fire ants in my garden that I am trying to get ready to plant. Also in my whiskey barrels.:( Katygirl

[URL]http://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/life-arts/war[/URL]

Kurt, that's a great article, especially the side bar!

Hey Annie,

I found this on a growers forum a while back and bookmarked it, looks like it's worth a try. There is a molasses that's available from hydroponic type stores that is said to be easy to mix, though the stuff from the grocery store should work as well.

Molasses Makes Fire Ants Move Out

By Pat Ploegsma, reprinted from Native Plant Society of Texas News
Summer 1999

Have you ever started planting in your raised beds and found fire ant highrises? Are you tired of being covered with welts after gardening? Put down that blowtorch and check out these excellent organic and non-toxic solutions.
Malcolm Beck1, organic farmer extraordinaire and owner of Garden-Ville Inc., did some experiments that showed that molasses is a good addition to organic fertilizer (more on fertilizer in the next issue). When using molasses in the fertilizer spray for his fruit trees he noticed that the fire ants moved out from under the trees. “I got an opportunity to see if molasses really moved fire ants. In my vineyard, I had a 500 foot row of root stock vines cut back to a stump that needed grafting. The fire ants had made themselves at home along that row. The mounds averaged three feet apart. There was no way a person could work there without being eaten alive! [B]I dissolved 4 tablespoons of molasses in each gallon of water[/B] [B]and sprayed[/B] along the drip pipe. By the next day the fire ants had moved four feet in each direction. We were able to graft the vines without a single ant bothering us.”

This gave him the idea for developing an organic fire ant killer that is 30% orange oil and 70% liquid compost made from manure and molasses. The orange oil softens and dissolves the ant’s exoskeleton, making them susceptible to attack by the microbes in the compost, while the molasses feeds the microbes and also smothers the ants. After the insects are dead, everything becomes energy-rich soil conditioner and will not harm any plant it touches. It can be used on any insect including mosquitoes and their larvae.
Break a small hole in the crust in the center of the mound then quickly!!! pour the solution into the hole to flood the mound and then drench the ants on top. Large mounds may need a second application. Available at Garden-Ville Square in Stafford, it has a pleasant lemonade smell.

According to Mark Bowen2, local landscaper and Houston habitat gardening expert, fire ants thrive on disturbed land and sunny grassy areas. “Organic matter provides a good habitat for fire ant predators such as beneficial nematodes, fungi, etc. Other conditions favoring fire ant predators include shading the ground with plantings, good soil construction practices and use of plants taller than turfgrasses.” He recommends pouring boiling soapy water over shallow mounds or using AscendTM. “Ascend is a fire ant bait which contains a fungal by-product called avermectin and a corn and soybean-based grit bait to attract fire ants. Ascend works slowly enough to get the queen or queens and it controls ants by sterilizing and/or killing them outright.”
Malcolm Beck also did some experiments with Diatomaceous Earth - DE - (skeletal remains of algae which is ground into an abrasive dust) which confirmed that DE also kills fire ants. He mixes 4 oz. of DE into the top of the mound with lethal results. According to Beck, DE only works during dry weather on dry ant mounds. Pet food kept outdoors will stay ant free if placed on top of a tray with several inches of DE

1Beck, Malcolm. The Garden-Ville Method: Lessons in Nature. Third Edition. San Antonio, TX: Garden-Ville, Inc., 1998.
2Bowen, Mark, with Mary Bowen. Habitat Gardening for Houston and Southeast Texas. Houston, TX: River Bend Publishing Company, 1998.

Amdro works great but it is important to start applying it early in the spring when the mounds are easy to spot after a good rain. I have been using it for many years and now rarely have to deal with more than a few small beds each year. When I first started using it my yard and garden had over a hundred mounds and that first year I reduced the population by about 75%. Each year since I have needed less and less.

Thanks everyone, I have used andro in my yard but do not want to use it in my garden. Also I have use the molasses I have gotten from the feed store. It comes in a sack and you spread it out. I find they just move to some other place, haven't tried this liquid solution but I will ry anything to get rid of these terrible pest. They do bit too.

I use it sparingly in my garden. I looked at the MSDS and didn't find anything alarming in it. I found that once fire ants get under your mulch there is almost no other way to remove them. I apply liquid molasses every time I feed my plants but it is only a little help. Below is a link to the official MSDS on Amdro fire ant bait.

[url]http://www.amdro.com/~/media/Files/MSDS/MSDS%20Amdro%20Fire%20Ant%20Bait%20733421%20Item%20No%2024564413110000%202456730%203220000.ashx[/url]

I have nothing to back it up, but I've heard coffee grounds, orange oil, and dried molasses all bother fire ants. I would apply those in a kind of random rotation along with periodically turning over the soill, the idea being to get them frustrated enough that they move out.

From the Dirt doctor:

Fire ants in the south have now exploded following the heavy rains. Here's the updated 3-Step Organic Program that works to control this man-made problem.

1. Treat the site. Apply beneficial nematodes. These are living organisms and must be used before the expiration date and/or before they die in the package. They will also control other insect pests in the soil. The alternative is to apply dry molasses at 20 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft.

2. Drench mounds with the mound drench formula. Pour the mound drench formula into the center of the viable mounds and apply beneficial nematodes at label directions. Here's the mound drench formula. Mix equal amounts of compost tea, molasses and orange oil. Use 4-6 ounces of this concentrate per gallon of water and use as a drench to kill fire ants and other pests in the ground. Use a container that pours a solid stream of liquid. Pour into one spot in the center of the mound. This causes the mix to go quickly to the bottom of the mound where the queens will probably be kept. Then pour the remainder of the mix in a circular pattern covering the entire mound. You might want to save a little to splash those ants trying to run away or worse, up your legs. Rev. 4/10


3. Go organic and use the entire Basic Program. The biodiversity of microbes, insects and other animals is the long term control.

Where do I get the beneficial? I have a whole sack of dry molasses. Don/t you hate these little sob's. I have blisters all over my hands right now. Everything seems to come to Texas first. There is nothing that doesn't sting or stick. Thanks for your info. I will get it and start on it. Annie

One supplier I have used
 

[QUOTE=Annie;326401]Where do I get the beneficial? I have a whole sack of dry molasses. Don/t you hate these little sob's. I have blisters all over my hands right now. Everything seems to come to Texas first. There is nothing that doesn't sting or stick. Thanks for your info. I will get it and start on it. Annie[/QUOTE]
[URL]http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/pest-solver-guide-ants[/URL] [URL]http://www.extension.org/pages/34549/which-fire-ant-bait-should-i-use[/URL]