fire ants! natural alternative?
sarahbobarah
17 years ago
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davidandkasie
17 years agosarahbobarah
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Fire ants and chiggers - non-toxic controls?
Comments (16)Be aware that almost without exception, all medicines come from something 'natural' and any 'natural' product that has medicinal properties can also have side effects including Neem oil "Potential Neem Side Effects in Children Neem seems to be fairly toxic to children. There have reports of very serious, sometimes immediate neem side effects in children. These reported side effects include: Vomiting Loose stools Drowsiness Overly acidic blood Anemia High levels of white blood cells Seizures Loss of consciousness Coma Swelling in the brain Loss of life." " Many people assume that neem is automatically free of side effects because it is a "natural" product. However, it is reasonable to assume that any natural product with medicinal properties is capable of causing side effects. Neem side effects can be especially dangerous in children." "Possible Side Effects of Neem A few clinical studies have reported side effects with neem. These possible side effects included: Low or no urine production (which may be a sign of kidney damage) Kidney damage Liver damage Yellow skin (jaundice), which may be a sign of liver damage Destruction of red blood cells Allergic reaction, which may cause symptoms such as: A rash or hives Itching Swelling of the mouth or throat Wheezing Difficulty breathing." That said, I've had exceptionally good luck eliminating fire ants with any of the baits that contain spinosad. Here is a link that might be useful: Neem side effects...See MoreOTS: Is there a natural way to get rid of crazy ants?
Comments (3)I use a boric acid-based liquid: Ant-Kil by Protexall, & I think Harris' makes 1 as well. It comes in a little bottle & you drip a few drops near the ant trails, they flock to it & soon they're all gone. Alternately, you can put some in a bottle cap, rather than directly on surfaces. Our house has tiled windowsills, so I just dribble a bit right on the tile. I think I got mine @ the hardware store, & I think some groceries like Publix may have it too. I like it because boric acid is something they can't develop resistance to & it basically non-toxic to humans & pets HTH Here is a link that might be useful: Crazy ant info @ IFAS...See MoreFire Ants
Comments (18)You could try this organic recipe (I'm having to adlib since I can't seem to find the exact note for this): Starting boiling about two cups of water, add half a cup of white sugar, a tablespoon of honey and two tablespoons of borax. Put dabs of the mixture into old milk jug lids and put them near the mounds. The ants should injest the mixture and take it back to the mound where it will get passed to workers and the queen, eventually killing the hive. It won't work in one application, so expect to rebait every other day. Now, here is the kicker: This completely 100% Organic ant bait is more dangerous to dogs, cats and any other critters that are attracted to the sweet mixture than your standard Amdro ant bait. So you will want to cage it so that only the ants can get to it. I understand the desire to do things the safe way, I am close to 98% chemical free in my practices, but in some cases, fire ants being one, chemical is safer and more effective than organic. Like the suggestion with the borax mixture, when I use amdro to bait mounds, I cover the bait with a pot, a piece of wood or some other item, simply to make sure the abundant birds that visit my yard don't mistake it for feed. I'm not too worried about other critters as my Springer Spaniel who is an awesome tracker/sniffer and gets easily distracted by any new/strange scent has never shown a bit of interest in the baited areas....See MoreFIRE !!!!!! Ants that is..........
Comments (50)I live in SW Florida and we have no shortage of these pest! I've used many of the ant killers you get from Home Depot and other retailers with very little success! I hired a pest control who came out and liquid sprayed the entire yard but no clue what they used. In about two or three hours you couldn't find a fire ant and it stayed that way about three months..............then reinvestation! The pest control rep told me you CANNOT get rid of fire ants in the southern US because it is over infested and they move from location to location sometimes several times a day! Rain alone will force them to relocate to drier conditions but it doesn't kill them. You also have neighbors who could care less or are oblivious to their existance in which their ants will relocate to your property! The best you can hope for is CONTROL but you will NEVER achieve EXTERMINATION! I just read numerous articles where ORTHO has a great product and also ELIMINATOR had many recommendations. The pest control method isn't bad...........about $45-$80 a shot. Here's what I think............get the pest control and spray which will show 99% improvement within hours. Then make your way to Walmart and grab a couple bags of eliminator and broadcast the yard on a regular schedule which you'll have to determine by trial and error. Once you know about how often you need to broadcast, you should be able to get a pretty good grip on the situation however, keep in mind you will have to continue the process as long as you live in the southern US.........it's part of life here in the swamp!...See Morevancleaveterry
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