I use Amdro but put it in containers that allow only ants to get in. Haven't found any signs of other animal life having been affected.

I start off using boiling water on the ants, then when the population numbers are low I leave out the Amdro so they take it in and poison the remainder of the colony.

Ortho makes a powder I usually use on fire ants and it works good. Maybe powder form would be better. Isn't Amdro granulars?

Yes, Amdro is granular, it looks like cracked corn, and doves are ground feeders which is what concerns me. I was using a Seven, a powder, but it wasn't very effective, it seemed to just get the next to move a foot to the side. I'm going to call the makers of Amdro today and see if they have any info on the products toxicity to wildlife.

After spending all summer fighting fire ants in eco-friendly manners and getting ticked off at not having a single place in my yard that I could sit without getting bit, I finally used a broadcast spreader to hit my entire yard with Amdro. Next day, nothing. I could finally work in the yard in my sandals or barefoot without fear of being bitten. I have a group of three pigeons that like to visit an area of my yard every morning (not really sure why as I don't think I have anything in that area that would be pigeon-friendly), after spreading the Amdro the same three pigeons have been back each morning, still in that same area of the yard. That said, I did my spreading shortly after the pigeons had left for their next stop, so the ants had all day and night to take the granules to their homes before the next morning.

Also, as an aside, the fire ants started coming back about 3-4 days later. It has been two weeks and while they're still coming back, they aren't nearly as bad as they were before bait application. Also, also, now that the fire ant numbers have been diminished, the sugar ants population has greatly increased, which, so long as they stay outside, won't bother me as much.

I emailed the manufacturers of Amdro a couple days ago, but they haven't gotten back to me, which made me suspicious. I'm looking elsewhere on-line and just found this on a wildlife website: Please note: Birds that have ingested Amdro ant bait or other granular pesticides can appear "drunk" as well. If you or your neighbors have been using these products and you see an impaired bird, you'll need to transport the affected bird immediately to a properly permitted rehabilitator for treatment.