Orange oil was tried and failed. I imagine peppermint oil would be the same, but I may try it close to my tort enclosures to see if it's something I can use on the days when they're all over the pens as well.
In reading about these ants, there are claims that the formic acid they release has been known to blind wildlife such as rabbits. I am terrified the same fate could befall my tortoises.
I live in a small college town between Austin and San Antonio, Texas, which is home of the Central Texas Tortoise Rescue. The CTTR is probably within 10-15mi of my location and yet, they do not have these ants at their facility. I am jealous, and I hope it stays that way.
I have sleeping tubs for my torts as they are still smallish to fit in them. These tables are set up outside with the feet in cans of oil. It worked okay for some time, but need to be redone with shielding for the oil cans. This is not a long term solution for me because my sulcata will some day...
I have noticed that the ants emerge and run everywhere after a rain, or on days when the humidity is just right. When a couple of the sleeping tubs got rain in them, the top soil substrate was moist for a while. All it took was a blade of grass brushing against one of the legs past the oil cup...
I wish it were that simple. There isn't some hole going down into their nest. They're just all over the place. They congregate under rocks, potted plants, anything you set down on the ground that they fancy. When they're active, all you have to do is step outside and they will cover your shoes...
The 'nuke from orbit on first sight' is my partner's approach in dealing with pests so they never develop into a problem. Unfortunately, there is no way to do this with the crazy ants. In fact, there are *no* fire ants left.
I have no confidence in using fire ant methods because there are no...
From what I understand, fire ants used to be the problem until these crazy ants showed up. Honestly, I'd really like it if the fire ants came back. At least they're manageable.
My area is a vast group of neighborhoods and somewhat rural. There are no fire ants left in this neighborhood and...
Thank you for your reply.
These ants will move under and into potted plants in a matter of a day or so. They once moved into a dirt-filled coke bottle after I placed it into a 5 gallon bucket I was using to pick up trash around the property.
I have to move potted plants around regularly and...
Hello everyone!
Recently I relocated to a place overrun with crazy ants. If you're not familiar with these ants, I hope you never have to be.
I've seen some great advice for treatments of ants and their hills like boric acid concoctions, so I'm throwing my line out to see if anyone here has...