Need help w/ fire ants...

Elheru Aran · Post by **Elheru Aran** » 2004-04-16 12:53am

OK, here's the situation... my family moved recently to a mobile home out in the sticks.

We have a LARGE mobile home-- it's elevated somewhat. There's a concrete deck and a small building behind it. Now, there's fire ants all under the home. There's about half a gazillon hills in the yard; a buncha 'em in the flower beds; and some in the cracks in the concrete. Now, understandably my siblings, parents, and I are unhappy about this....

We've been trying some ant stuff we got from a local Ace Hardware, but thus far it hasn't done much... it's the sort you sprinkle dry onto the anthills, and then water down.

How do we get rid of the little fuckers once and for all without having to resort to blowing craters in the yard?!!

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-04-16 01:18am

I would expect gasoline to do the trick. That's a no-no under the house though.

Elheru Aran · Post by **Elheru Aran** » 2004-04-16 01:21am

Gas is out, sorry... we're on a fairly big lot, pretty dry grass, pine trees very nearby. Think big wind--> fire moves--> A SHITLOAD OF TROUBLE...

okay, so that was maybe just a bit too emphatic... sorry...

anyways, thanks for the thought...

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2004-04-16 01:26am

Move the Mobile, get alot of gas(Ten or so gallons from the amount you describe)

Poor Gasoline into hole's via funnels, when you start to get some overflow from the hole OR you've exceded one gallon on that hole, then get a ten foot pole, or however many feet you want to use, back away, set the end of the pole on fire(While you second takes that big old can of gas away)

The only surefire way to kill fire ants is as it sounds with fire

For Hillbilly saftey reasons the HBSA recomend you use a minum of two, people and you are strong recomened to use three, the third person sets a controled fire some distance away from the gasing and you keep a seperate area for your gasoline, take your buring stick from the fire to the hole as it prevent accidently lighting yourself off if you spilled any

Speaking of which if you do spill any on your hands you should not handle the fire until you have throughly washed them and allowed 15 minutes for dissolving of any lingering fumes

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-04-16 01:31am

Elheru Aran wrote:Gas is out, sorry... we're on a fairly big lot, pretty dry grass, pine trees very nearby. Think big wind--> fire moves--> A SHITLOAD OF TROUBLE...

okay, so that was maybe just a bit too emphatic... sorry...

anyways, thanks for the thought...

I wasn't talking about lighting it. Gasoline and gasoline fumes are lethal in tiny little tunnels.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2004-04-16 01:31am

Gas is out, sorry... we're on a fairly big lot, pretty dry grass, pine trees very nearby. Think big wind--> fire moves--> A SHITLOAD OF TROUBLE...

Noticing your reply I have to add this
It does not make it infesable, it just makes it alot more time consuming for setup, wetting down the surrond area's, wetting down the bases of the trees and keep filled buckets handly

If your poor right the most flame you should get after the inidat flooom(5-10 feet high) will only be 2-3 feet as the gasoline both burns and collapses the ants tunnels

Laird · Post by **Laird** » 2004-04-16 01:34am

Can't you take a garden hose to the bastards and drown em?

Johonebesus · Post by **Johonebesus** » 2004-04-16 04:01am

Howedar wrote:I wasn't talking about lighting it. Gasoline and gasoline fumes are lethal in tiny little tunnels.

Wrong, gasoline won't do jack squat. Ant nests are very deep, and the gas won't reach the lower levels to kill the queen or even most of the drones. All you will accomplish is killing a patch of grass and maybe, if you're very lucky, getting them to move the mound a few feet away. In order to get any effect at all you would have to use a huge amount of gas, and it would be cheaper and more efficient to buy poisons.. About the only thing I have ever seen work is just knocking over the mounds every time you see one (with a long stick, obviously, or one good swift kick). If you keep disturbing the mounds, they will move, and if you won't give them any piece in your yard, they will relocate to the neighbors' property, eventually. However, around here we only have to deal with a few mounds every year, and they don't get very big. If you have such a huge infestation, you will probably need to either call an exterminator or just be very careful where you step.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-04-16 04:27am

Laird wrote:Can't you take a garden hose to the bastards and drown em?

Fire ants have an interesting strategy for dealing with flooding. They pour out of the nest and cling together in a ball, rolling in the water so that no ant is under long enough to drown. Now, the queen evacuates too, obviously. She's typically not quite at the center of the ball. Now, while the water itself won't kill them, when they're out is an excellent opportunity to use Raid.

KhyronTheBackstabber · Post by **KhyronTheBackstabber** » 2004-04-16 04:35am

When all else fails, call the Orkin Man.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2004-04-16 09:22am

I take it they're not the Red Alert variety?

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2004-04-16 10:58am

Diesel fuel works great. JP-8 if you can get it. It stinks for awhile, but it'll kill em, and it's not flammable.

Ted C · Post by **Ted C** » 2004-04-16 11:18am

You can get specialized fire ant baits at places like Lowe's and Home Depot. According to the advertising, the workers will collect the bait and feed it to the queen, who will die from the poison in the bait. Once the queen dies, the rest of the nest is supposed to follow. The process is supposed to take a week or so.

You might find good info at the following site...

http://fireant.tamu.edu/

EDIT: Corrected some spelling. Also, the linked site recommends a "Two Step" process combining baits to reduce ant populations over a wide area and targeting known mounds with powder or "soak" pesticides.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2004-04-16 12:18pm

DON'T USE GASOLINE!!!

Gasoline WILL EXPLODE. It DOES NOT BURN EVENLY.

Get diesel Fuel!!! Diesel doesn't explode, it burns. By lighting off alot of gas, you're just asking to get hurt or hurt someone else. ALWAYS use diesel fuel if you have to burn something.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-04-16 12:41pm

Of course. Kerosene probably is acceptable as well.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-04-16 02:44pm

Diesel fuel would work fine, just don't let the police or anyone from the EPA see you using it. Kerosine works fine as well. However, I'd advise you to take a trip to your local co-op instead. Put some sticky paper down around the mounds and crush them....and run away before they come up out of the ground. Get a can of raid and spray any that get past the sticky paper.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-04-16 03:41pm

Vertigo1 wrote:Diesel fuel would work fine, just don't let the police or anyone from the EPA see you using it. Kerosine works fine as well. However, I'd advise you to take a trip to your local co-op instead. Put some sticky paper down around the mounds and crush them....and run away before they come up out of the ground. Get a can of raid and spray any that get past the sticky paper.

That still won't get the queen or the nest workers, and as such will only buy you a couple weeks at most.

Ted C · Post by **Ted C** » 2004-04-16 05:13pm

Since Elheru is trying to avoid pouring flammable liquids under his home, I think the diesel/kerosene idea needs to go by the wayside.

A large pot of boiling water will reportedly kill a nest about 60% of the time. Combine that with a bait poison and you should be able to knock them out.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-04-16 05:29pm

Ted C wrote:Since Elheru is trying to avoid pouring flammable liquids under his home, I think the diesel/kerosene idea needs to go by the wayside.

A large pot of boiling water will reportedly kill a nest about 60% of the time. Combine that with a bait poison and you should be able to knock them out.

The boiling water would just get absorbed by the dirt. This is where diesel fuel would since since the smell would be there for a good while.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-04-16 06:59pm

You're going to have a problem in trying to deal with these buggers, they're persistent and will adapt to anything you can throw at them in time.

Cypermethrin is good I hear. It's cheap, easy to use and if you get the main nest and the queen, you should take care of the rest of the xenomor... uh, ants.

Be advised, you will need to keep hosing down the place with this stuff or any other chemical (make sure it's safe whatever you use if you have kids or pets) continually if you want to stop recolonisation. If you do it right, the ants should be kept at bay and won't grow immune to the original dosage.

Elheru Aran · Post by **Elheru Aran** » 2004-04-16 08:38pm

Some more info on the situation...

Moving the house is pretty much out, my parents aren't gonna go that far for ants. We aren't sure where exactly they are under the house, and neither me or my dad (the only two who would be doing the job) are planning on going under there to find out.

Pest control guy is also out-- my mom's a cheapskate. She also believes in wearing shoes when outdoors... sometimes i wonder if she was ever a kid...

I seriously doubt my parents would go for the diesel/kerosene/gasoline idea (they've got this thing about fire, which is understandable since my grandparents lost their house a few years ago from fire-- it was a lightning strike then, but still...). What I'm leaning towards is chemical or fairly non-hazardous (as in, won't explode or eat your fingers off) means of disposing of the little buggers.

Speaking of which, they don't have high hills-- pretty flat, in some medium-tall grass (yes, we need to mow... just moved in though and we don't have a lawnmower yet). Plus, there's too many of them to be able to easily harrass them.

What we tried (on a few hills before it ran out) was this brown powder stuff (don't know the exact name-- we got it from an Ace Hardware)-- you sprinkle it on the hill and then wet it down. not sure what's supposed to happen after that... i guess it's to kill them...

anyways, thanks for the suggestions and i'd like more...

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2004-04-17 12:20am

Rogue 9 wrote:
Laird wrote:Can't you take a garden hose to the bastards and drown em?
Fire ants have an interesting strategy for dealing with flooding. They pour out of the nest and cling together in a ball, rolling in the water so that no ant is under long enough to drown. Now, the queen evacuates too, obviously. She's typically not quite at the center of the ball. Now, while the water itself won't kill them, when they're out is an excellent opportunity to use Raid.

Or super acids and bases like sodium bicarbonate. Watch the ants burn while wearing an safety suit or just use Molotov Cocktails.

EmperorChrostas the Cruel · Post by **EmperorChrostas the Cruel** » 2004-04-17 12:56am

Will Boric acid work?
Razor crystals of death for roaches, and virtualy harmless for non insects.
When mixed with sugar it is irresistable, and deadly to roaches, but I have heared nothing about ants, much less the ants from hell you are battling.
It is quite cheap, so even if it doesn't work, it isn't a great loss.

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2004-04-17 01:26am

Admiral Valdemar wrote: Cypermethrin is good I hear. It's cheap, easy to use and if you get the main nest and the queen, you should take care of the rest of the xenomor... uh, ants.

THe one problem with that is that this could be a multiple queen colony, which would mean you'd have to kill all of the hills you could find, and make sure the neighbors, if they have ants too, do too.

PrinceofLowLight · Post by **PrinceofLowLight** » 2004-04-17 01:26am

I once saw a movie of a guy filling a big nest with smokeless powder and igniting it. That was pretty cool.

I have nothing useful to add.