I used beneficial nematodes for ant control and hundreds of other types of bugs. Spraying molasses will drive ants to your next door neighbors. It probably works very well since ant mounds are always small and never seem to last long while my neighbors would have huge ant mounds and are there for a long time if done nothing. Do you have any grass at all? What did you do after you had done core aerating? It should be ONE TIME ONLY... core aerating followed by compost then keep up with quarterly feeding with soybean meal to keep the microbes from compost growing and improving the soil over time. In a few years, it should be much improved... as long as you stay away from chemical stuff. If you really want to improve the clay soil, you must practice organic meaning no synthetic chemicals of any kind at all that would ruin soil biology that is responsible for improving soil.

I don't know anything about the ants you have in Az. but I have dealt with fire ants here in Ga. for nearly 35 yrs. now. NOTHING kills them except fire ant poison. Boiling water make make them move but by the time it reaches the queen(s) area, it has already cooled. And just so some folks here know, fire ants have multiple inlets/outlets to one main mound. They have also adapted and now have more than one queen in most mounds...so killing THE queen doesn't work any longer. A mound can be as deep as 20'! The only thing I have found that works is FIRE ANT killer, not just regular ant killer. And even then if you continue to use the same chemical formula, they will become immune to it so you need to switch brands/formulas on a timely basis. Grits doesn't work, garlic doesn't work, boiling water doesn't work, swapping spadefulls of 2 mounds doesn't work...they are likely the same colony or at least related!

I have killed huge fire ant mounds by using the used coffee grounds that Starbucks gives away for free. After experimenting with these used coffee grounds for 8 years, I have found all kinds of interesting uses for them. Mainly as a direct contact spray, I can take care of all the insects I have problems with, and I have 40,000 plants. I found that the coffee spray will not kill ants, but they ARE repelled by the used coffee grounds. This may take a little practice, but I take the used coffee grounds and mix them with enough water that they turn into mud. I put a thin layer of mud all over the mound, and I found out the trick is to cover another 4 inches farther than the mound because they try to tunnel out under the coffee mud. The only thing I can figure is that they refuse to dig through the coffee, and when they can't go out and feed the mound, the colony dies. One way or another, it kills the mounds. This is hard to do when you collect your own grounds, bit you can get so much at one time at Starbucks when you go at the right time of day. Sometimes, I have come away with about 60 pounds of used coffee grounds when I ask them for the bag they are filling behind the counter. On another note, try experimenting with coffee repelling ants and other insects. Like if you had a small garden, you could pour a barrier of grounds around the perimeter of the garden to keep them away. The barrier would also keep out mealy bugs, scales, aphids, and even spider mites. I never got to finish a formal experiment, but I would bet money that used coffee grounds would get rid of chinch bugs in the lawn as well.

My crowder peas and snap beans are being overrun with ants to the point I can't pick them without getting covered in them. What's the best way of controlling them prior to picking? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Janet