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Fire Ants - Oowie!!

14 years ago

I was out doing some garden cleanup this afternoon and some ants, or at least one, got into my garden clog. I don't know how many bites are on the top of my foot but it hurts and burns. I put some cortizone cream on it and when it stops bothering me I will go back out, wearing my boots.

Edward

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Comments (14)

organic_kitten
14 years ago
Ouch! Sorry Edward! Those things really hurt. And the hurt can stay with you for a few days too.
kay
beachlily z9a
14 years ago
What??? Fire ants in Canada? I thought they are a southern curse!
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I remember the fire ant marching North :( I was hoping that our weather would be too cold for them. Over the years that marched up this way, we where in a heat wave w/ a droughts in the summer, now I wonder how cold is too cold for the fire ants, how much more will they go north. I know the site said they are not sure how they got in Huston or where they came from... But one has to wonder, if someone didnt "plant" the little guys on our soil, hoping to kill the fire ants, but not knowing full of what the crazy ants would do. and how does a African queens escape from an South American lab (AKA; Killer bees) furthermore, why does it always seem that when I Insect gets loose, it has to be a nasty one. what happened to all the good Insects. the site, it also said that they kill out electrical meaning they also invade inside your home, and wipe out our ladybugs. But what I don't understand is that it looks like they could have been control, and still could, if the EPA would allow a stronger ant killer to be available to the Exterminators. for me it leaves too many questions and not enough answers. Like if they knew about the ants since 2002, why have they not done something about it.. If an exterminator is charging someone $1200 to kill out the ants at her parents home ( if that is true, and it really does kill the ants) then there you go..
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Fire ants in compost piles
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I don't think the OP would care about them if they weren't trying to turn or use the pile. I sure wouldn't want them coming at me, yikes. At some point you have to deal with them or you never get to use your compost. Here in MO we got ticks and chiggers, I can't imagine life with those PLUS fire ants. Amdro (hydramethylnon) is pretty effective ant stuff. For better or worse, I worked on the env. fate studies for it in the early 90s when American Home Products was a client of our lab. Interesting historical note: that was right after they changed their name from American Cyanamid. The days of advertising 'better living through chemistry' by companies with toxic sounding names were coming to an end. After Love Canal no one did that well with names like United Sulfur & Stench Corp. or Consolidated Carbolic Corrosives. LOL In any case, moderation in all things, so if you use it, SPRINKLE the bait and don't dump. Or better yet use plastic bait stations. I don't think it would become a problem in the average garden unless you used way too much for the job. This puts me in mind of doyourownpestcontrol.com which has specific products for various kinds of ants. I had carpenter ants chewing the Styrofoam insulation out of a brand new garage door a couple years ago, got some gel specifically formulated for them from those guys and it worked like a charm. I only used about 10% of the syringe full that I bought too. It doesn't take much if you have the right product.
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Our chickens, especially the Key West chickens, love to dig up the fire ant hills and eat up all the white baby ants. They do it every time they find a hill and the ants get mad and leave. We have almost 4 acres which was covered with fire ants before we moved in with chickens. Now its rare that I have fire ants. Every now and again I find some that set up housekeeping in the garden and I call the chickens over and they dig it all up. They aren't all that crazy about eating the adult ants but once they find out about those 'tasty' (to them) little white larvae in the ant holes they will remember and dig them up and the adults will move shop. Guineas also do a great job of removing ants.
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Fire ants are driving me crazy!
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Try this ancient and completely non poisonous approach on the fire ants (mounds or anyplace you see them coming from). I found this back in the 70s in an old Farmer's Almanac from the library. Mix 3 tablespoons of molasses or sugar in a gallon of water. Mix a teaspoon or packet of any yeast in a few tablespoons of warm water for 20 minutes. Pour the yeast into sugar water and then pour it all into the mound. If a gallon isn't enough make more. Pour it a foot or two around the mound to discourage them from moving. Why might this work? Because fire ants hate sugar and all ants hate yeast. It has to do with what they are doing underground. The sugar and yeast ruin their food storage. They should abandon the mound in 24 hours, but look around to see if they just moved. Having said all that, if they are not making mounds after it rains, then they might not be fire ants. Lots of ants will bite. Still, that sugar/yeast mix works on a lot of different ants.
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Edward_Kimball
Original Author
14 years ago
They are a new pain in the behind here (sometimes literally).
newyorkrita
14 years ago
Don't they die over the winter?
beachlily z9a
14 years ago
Just like the other southern curse--rust?? Don't know.
bluenosens
14 years ago
Hi, Edward. That's bad news. They tend to follow the coast and not go very far inland here in NS[so I'm told]. They are in Pictou county and are really dug in there. There is just Colchester co between them and us here in Cumberland on the strait...it will only be a matter of time....cheers, lloyd...and they seem to winter here if the frost doesn't go deep!
jean_ar
14 years ago
I didn't think the things went that far north.I thought Fire ants was only in southern states.I hate them things.They make blissters on me if one stings/bites me.I have recently found a powder that will kill the t hings,after buying everything on the market to destroy them.

Jean
granalene56
14 years ago
Hi Jean, I am an ant diliker also!!
The ants are awful here in south AL. I despise them. I wear socks most of the time when working outside because of them. Better for the things to cover my sock than my foot. They have done that and it hurts.
I have bought many ant killers--none of them have killed them, only move them to another spot. And have put grits, cornmeal and Clorox on them--none of it killed them.
Please tell us the name of the powder you mentioned.
Thanks,
Arlene
katladie
14 years ago
Yes, please Jean, what is the powder. We have them bad too. The stuff I use is pretty effective, but they don't make it anymore, I bought the last bag I could find this spring..

Sharon
dayliliesrus
14 years ago
Do not use Orthene! The fire ants will take that poison to your underground water tables. The Clemson Ext taught the Master Gardeners to use a granular form like Amdro early in the season (Broadcast) when you 1st see them and then again in about August. You will not have to worry about them again if you follow those instructions. You will have to continue to do it each year though as most neighbors will not do it.

Also when I visit gardens I tend to take those prepackaged alcohol swabs and if I get into them, I simply tear open the package and wipe the spot good with it. I do not even have a blister when I do that.

Just 2 cents worth from a southerner
jean_ar
14 years ago
Arlene and Sharon; This powder I use is from Walmart.They have a tv set up in the garden center here and it keeps playing every day about this stuff,and after buying everything else on the market that done no good at all,I bought this.The name of it is "RESULTS" Fire Ant Killer.It comes in a round 1 pound container.It has a "shaker" top on it,where can just sprinkle it on the Fire Ant Mounds.It works in minutes. Ready to Use and NO ODOR.Just follow the directions on the container,and it works.When I bought it,I thought "Yea,Right,Probably a waste of money again"I was really surprised to see DEAD Fire Ants all around the mound in a few minutes.Every year I was putting stuff on m ounds all over my yard,and all it done was make them move over a couple feet,and build another mound.. I noticed ONE mound yesterday in the back yard,is the first one I have seen since spring when I went all over treating them all.

Jean
Nancy Barginear
14 years ago
We've battled fire ants for years at our place. With Amdro, they just move over to another spot. This year we used a white powder that we bought from Tractor Supply, and it has been very effective. It kills them within hours. We've only discovered two nests in the daylily bed this past week. Until this year, we had them all over our land.

I wear thick socks along with high-top rubber boots, and tuck my jeans pants legs inside. That seems to afford the best protection.

You actually have to break the pustule that the fire ants make before the bite begins to heal.

Nancy
dayliliesrus
14 years ago
If you use Amdro as a spot treatment then yes they will move. You have to broadcast Amdro for it to work effectively. All fire art poison will kill fireants.. The key is to kill the queen that is well protected in their nests. Go to this Clemson University website for further details.

http://www.clemson.edu/sandhill/userfiles/file1446.pdf
granalene56
14 years ago
Thank ya'll for the information. One of my counted blessings is this computer. It is great to be able to communicate with others about things like this.
I will be trying something different on them aggrivating ants!!

Arlene

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