Anectdotal organic ways to get rid of fire ants

16 years ago

Well, I thought hard about whether to post this cuz some will think it is rather gross. However, I know many are plagued with fire ants and my DH and I have discovered a way to discourage them. It is organic and FREE!!!

First let me say that our yard has few fire ants. We have lots of native ants and carpenter ants in some areas, but few fire ants. We think it is because we mulch heavily with organic materials, and much of our yard is mulched. Apparently, fire ants don't care for mulched areas that much (or so we find). In the edges of our yard, where the mulch gets thin at times is where we sometimes get invaded from the neighbors' yards. Usually, when we see a mound, all we do is carry mulch over to the mound and cover it thickly with mulch. They don't like this, and soon move over to the neighbors' yards or another sparse patch of dirt.

Well, lately, we have had a few mounds here and there around the border of our property. Having noted this while working out in the yard and filthy from top to bottom, my DH decided to pee on the mounds since I wouldn't let him go inside so dirty to go to the bathroom. I've got to say, that I frequently ask him to pee in the compost pile or in select places to speed the composting process. AFter all, it is high in nitrogen, and in a dilute fashion, can promote growth(however, can burn if you pee on plants directly).

At first we noted that the mounds he peed on had moved and left the yard. When we saw other mounds, I had him do it again. Again, they left. Well, encouraged, we tried it on another mound on another edge of the property. Within 24-48 hours they were gone.

Now, I've got to say this is anectdotal. Maybe it won't work for you. Maybe you think this is too gross to try. All I know is that it has worked for us 4 times now. It is free, sterile, and high in nitrogen. Also readily available. The other thing that has worked for us is to cover the mounds with a thick layer of mulch. Be advised that I wouldn't recommend putting full strength pee on grass or directly on any plant. Make sure it is isolated from a plant.

I don't know if it would work if the mounds are all over the yard. For us, they were on the edges of the property where it was easy to 'treat' without affecting plants. They obviously don't like to be peed on (would you?) and are happy to move on. Just wanted to give you all another weapon in your arsenal for treating fire ants. Try it, you may find it works for you too!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

florah
16 years ago
Sounds like the perfect plan. ;-)
My first encountner with fire ants - or what I thought were fire ants - was the planting area between our two garage doors; definitely not a good spot for your free fire ant remedy, anna.
My big question is: How can I make sure they are fire ants? Are there any other small red ants that build a mound?
treefrog_fl
16 years ago
First of all, Anna, I like your style. And secondly, your husband's pretty cool too.
Make sure he always has an adequate beer intake!
I for one don't like wasting perfectly good ammonium nitrate, just to be flushed away.
That is the first ingredient in almost all fertilizers.BTW.
Excellent nitrogen.
I'm glad to hear that in your experience it has helped to repel fire ants too.
Maybe that's why I've never been plagued with them in my yard?
Of course I never pee in my front yard or in any of my neighbor's yards.
Do you think I'm completely nuts?
Please, don't answer that.
Related Discussions
How to get rid of ants in a potted orange tree?
Q
Comments (23)
This thread has reminded me of one of my many nightmare stories about fire ants. These ants are simply a part of life in much of the warmer parts of this country. I was living in S. Carolina at the time. I got into my car, backed down the driveway, and started down the road. After about two or three minutes, I felt a sharp sting on my calf. Immediately, I felt stings all over, including down my blouse. A huge swarm of the ants had entered my car at some point from the time I had driven it earlier in the day till the moment they all tried to sting me at once. The nurses counted dozens and dozens of stings from my toes to the top of my head. I was bothered by 'phantom' ant stings for months after that, lol.
...See More
Ant Invasion-in need of organic ways to win the battle!
Q
Comments (20)
1>So if ants are building their mounds right at the base 1>of your seedlings, they pose no harm?? 2>Depends on the ant. Most of the time no. I have a raised 2>veggie bed with a largish ant hill in it and this is where 2>I plant peppers. They don't harm the plant at all and the 2>pepper I have growing in the ant mound does just as well 2>as the rest. That is amazing to me. My experience with ants eating plants started at an early age. I thought, gee, nothing growing here, I will plant some peas. Of course it was an ant hill (sleeping during the pea planting season evidently.) Once the peas started growing, they devoured the plants entirely. Those of you who don't see ants as a pest in need of killing must not have as many ant hills in their yard as I do. We had one that was at least 10 feet by 4 feet. That is a lot of space to abdicate to ants. And of course there are maybe 97 other ant hills in other spots. Personally I don't feel the need to let ants rule that much of my yard. Anytime they are trying to live en masse in a garden bed, they are going to get soaked with water, have their nest disturbed, and probably have soapy water sprayed on them if they won't move. They have always eaten the plants or the plant roots near them. I can't imagine what kind of ants you would have that WOULDN'T kill the plants they are by. For proof I point out the completely plantless nature of ant hills. Marcia
...See More
Fire Ants and organic garden
Q
Comments (12)
I successfully rid my yard of them by using the following: 2 oz of Garrett Juice (sold in Dallas, it's mostly molasses from the smell) and 2 oz of orange oil to 1 gallon of water. Pour it on the mound, kind of slowly so that it doesn't run off but seeps into the holes of the colony. Use the water to keep the keep the ants from coming to you. Within a few hours you can tell if there's activity on the mound. Slow, dying ants aren't a problem, but vigorous activity is. Drench it again. Big mounds might take a third application. Caveats: orange oil will kill plant roots, so don't use more than 2 oz on any one spot. Change the mixture to only 1 oz of orange oil if you think you will need more than 1 application. Also, big colonies will start other mounds quickly, so watch for them and treat sooner rather later. Eventually, you will get control--I did and haven't had a problem for 3 years. There is usually 1 attempt to start a colony each spring, but after treating it, nothing else. I used boiling water a couple of times and it does work, but it is hard to carry boiling water and it kills the plant roots. Diatomeceous earth (not for swimming pool use but for garden use) will kill them (and other bugs, too, good or bad), but it takes a really long time to get the whole colony. You can shovel the colony into a bucket and then kill them however you like. Dust the shovel handle and the bucket rim with baby powder--the ants can't crawl through it. Hope this helps!!
...See More
Need help to get rid of scales and ants
Q
Comments (12)
Hi everyone, Thank you for your advice. I continue to spray with organocide. I used garden hose to hose the leaves and flush the soil. They look better. less ants still have some left though. Do we have to spray citrus regularly to protect all insects in the future? I really like the idea of coffee ground. I will try this method soon. I have another question... I'm not sure wheter should I create another post or not. I have a potted honey mandarin tree(dwarf, about 3 ft tall). This past summer, it had about 10 fruits. They looked pretty normal but when we cut them in half, we found out that half of the fruit had dry pulps and another half had juicy pulps. This happened to all 10 oranges. I don't know what cause this? less water?
...See More
annafl
Original Author
16 years ago
florah,

Fire ant mounds usually are just that- large, flat-on-top mounds that have multiple small openings. Yes, the ants usually have some red on them and are not as fast as the native ants. The native ants can have some red on them too, but make volcano-shaped mounds with a larger, single opening. They are faster. They don't sting in any way. Once you see both types, then you will always recognize them. Hey, just send your DH out there at night.

Tree, we truly are like-minded in more ways than I even imagined. Yes, such a pity to waste perfectly good resources. Especially when you can use the same to multi-task!

Just went out to check the areas this morning, and the ants have gone away completely. Much better than Amdro, etc.
wanda662
16 years ago
Does it have to be fresh?
A couple of weeks ago I had to do a 24 hr. urine sample. I could get a jug and save all the fluid till night. Think it might work?
early_bird_2007
16 years ago
Anectdotal organic way to get rid of cats.
My neighbors think their cats are wild animals and should run free outside. Their cats think my yard is a litter box. They dig soil and mulch, everything. My herbs grow in a CAGE, like they are going to run away... Few days ago I started to "mark" my garden with urine and so far - they don't dig where the urine is! I put it around beds, like a border. My DH would never do that, but fortunately I have another source - my 3 year old son potty.
Maria
annafl
Original Author
16 years ago
wanda, i'm sure it doesn't have to be fresh, but be advised that fresh urine is sterile, but the longer it is in a container, it may start to smell. Maybe store it in the garage.

Maria, another great use of free resources. Helps your plant, too. You have a great supply!

Anna

Anectdotal organic ways to get rid of fire ants

Comments (6)

florah

treefrog_fl

Related Discussions

annafl
Original Author

wanda662

early_bird_2007

annafl
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Anectdotal organic ways to get rid of fire ants

Comments (6)

florah

treefrog_fl

Related Discussions

annaflOriginal Author

wanda662

early_bird_2007

annaflOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

annafl
Original Author

annafl
Original Author