Dealing with Fire Ants

[StudentoftheReptile]

I apparently have a fire infestation. Luckily, it hasn't reached the house, but I have at least two decent-sized anthills in the backyard, and little red mounds popping up all over everywhere else. With little Kobe spending pretty much all of his time outside now, and getting ready to do some serious re-landscaping of the property, I need to nip this problem in the bud. After all, in years to come, I will be working toward a larger, more permanent pen for my sulcata, and more importantly, I have two little boys who will be running around outdoors before too long.

For those of you with experience, what are some effective methods you have dealing with fire ants?

 

[NudistApple]

I would imagine that diatomaceous earth would do the trick.

 

[Neal]

Don't have experience with fire ants, but we had a pretty bad carpenter problem last summer. We had to call the bug guy out a few times...a lot of tortoise keepers don't like that...I don't like it either, but I still call him out. I have to walk through the yard as he does things and point out where exactly I want him to spray, or where the problem areas are which are usually along the pen boarders. If you have ant hills, maybe treat the areas where the hills are and create a border around them so the tortoises can't get to the area until the poison has run though its cycle? Again...don't know much about getting rid of fire ants specifically.

 

[LeaderLeprechaun]

we have fire ants here too and a couple of mounds my dad is treating atm. if you can its prolly best to put some ant killer out there and like was stated before but a barrier around it or you could keep him indoors for a lil while if its possible. im not sure how big your tort is.

 

[tyrs4u]

Have any of you with fire ants call city hall because when I lived in california all we have to do was contact them and let them know that there was potential fire ants and they take of the rest, extermination for free. But if it turns out you have regular ants or carpender ants theyll recommend a regular insect guy.

 

[hlester22]

Ok two different, poison free ways I learned when we used to live in south carolina.

1. Pour uncooked grits on the nest. The ants will eat it and it will expand in their stomach and kill them. This sometimes takes a while.

2. If you have two different nests, have a person standing at each nest with a shovel. Each person takes a big scoop of their nest, and runs it over to the other nest. The ants will fight each other and hopefuly kill each other off.

Neither of these is full proof, but something to try.

 

[Jacob]

There has been one mound of red ants in my torts new enclosure where i moved!
I Just got a shovel and broke it up, never had to deal with it since

 

[6speedtitaniumr/t]

You might try pouring a couple of separate doses of boiling water down the ant hills.

That usually takes care of the red ants here in Texas.

Just trying to help.

 

[ascott]

Fire ants are uber dangerous .....especially where children are going to play...or where tortoise will eat fruit and such sticky items that adhere to their eyes and nostrils....

You can use the diatemaceous earth (food grade only)....first treat the mound With a bunch right in the hill entrance....then when they "appear" to be gone take all tortoise out of the area and don't allow children in the area...and the quickest bravest adult should take a spade shovel and muck up the mound but be prepared for ants to come out like a quick moving shadow...and watch out in other areas (for every ant hill you see they have another less obvious exit "hole" and they can flood out of there too....and then pour some additional diat. earth into the mucked up area....I would then do the muck and run one more time before feeling secure...

Now...you used the word infested....you may have to be diligent over a longer period of time....like a month or during entire summer....also suggest you not feed any sweet fruits or juicy items to your torts in that outdoor space and also remember that any cool water dishes will serve as a great place for them to cater under....as well as cool heavy damp bricks and wood....I wish you loads of luck....these guys are hard to get rid of....or at least to get a handle on...

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I don't if I would call it an outright infestation per say. But there are more than a few hills sprouting up all round the back and front yards. No where the tortoise pen yet, and I don't really feed him a lot of sweet fruits outside anyway...but I don't want things to get out of hand.

 

[JoshgOC]

You might try pouring a couple of separate doses of boiling water down the ant hills.

That usually takes care of the red ants here in Texas.

Just trying to help.

that's genius! Never thought of that.

 

[Tenthplanet]

Have you tried club soda. I kid you not, two cups of club soda poured into the center of the fire ant mound will suffocate the queen and the other ants that in the colony at the time of the pour. If you don't see immediate results, you can always pour more, its only club soda. What do you have to lose?

 

[pdrobber]

jeeze you people...poor little ants ............

 

[shellysmom]

I've tried everything for fire ants, or as I lovingly call them, ant bastards. The only nontoxic things that have ever really worked for me are:

1) Boiling water, although it kills any grass or plants it touches, so be prepared for that.
2) Diatomacious Earth (DE), but you have to do it the right way. The ground has to be totally dry--no dew or rain, and then completely cover the ant hill with it. Most food-bait poisons say to sprinkle around the mound so you don't disturb the ants, and they carry the poison into the mounds undisturbed. The DE is different, though. It's a contact dehydrator for anything with an exoskeleton. You want it to touch as many ants as possible, so just shake it right on top and it will get transferred throughout the colony. It's perfectly safe for humans and animals to eat.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I'm going to try DE this weekend. These things aren't going away.

 

[ShadowRancher]

Yup like everyone has said DE and boiling water...my dad goes out just as the sun is rising with the kettle that way the queen and most of the rest of the colony are near the surface waiting for the sun to warm them up....then you can boil the little bastards to death.

 

[heathedw]

I just spray the bed with orthomax ant killer then put some castle rock (usually 4) around the bed for a few days so the torts can't get access. Then hose the dead bed and ants away with water. A buddy of mine just sprays his beds with orthomax then after a few hours washing it away real good. He has 4 torts for many years.

 

[Moozillion]

I have used a method suggested by a friend. You hook up a garden hose, turn it on full blast and flush away the nest. Here's the important part: you have to flush out the egg chamber. When you see lots of little white ant eggs washing out, then you know you've hit it. Leave them alone for a day or 2 so they can start to rebuild, the flush them like mad again, making sure not to quit until you see eggs floating away. I've never had to flush a nest more than 3 times: they move elsewhere in order to protect their precious eggs that you keep washing away. Sometimes they don't move all that FAR away :-( but sometimes they pack up and leave.

---

(if you neighbor complains about new fire ant nests in his yard, just act innocent!)

 

[DesertGrandma]

I only have used the food grade diatomaceous earth and it works for me every time. I sprinkle it right into the tortoise enclosure and the ants disappear. I don't know about fire ants, but the ones we have disappear quickly. When I see them return I just do the same thing again. We live on a native wash area so they will never be irradicated, and their queen probably doesn't even live in our yard. But, the hills that constantlhy pop up in our yard are quickly abandoned with the DE. Make sure it is "food grade" and not the kind that is used in swimming pools.

 

[jtrux]

Boiling water is pretty effective. That and just plain ol fire does the trick too, stir them up with some diesel and light them up. Kinda fun too. Of course if depends in where you live if you can do that but if its in your backyard you will be fine, diesel doesnt flare up all crazy and your neighbors will never know.