SHARK FARMER
New Member
Has any used or considered using permethrin to keep fire ants out of an outdoor enclosure? I’ve been battling fire ants on my property in Florida and we are always concerned they will get into our Aldabra enclosure. We’ve had several close calls in the 2 months since we moved onto our 10 acre lot. We are going to broadcast bait in April with extinguish plus (pasture safe) but until then we’ve been mound treating around the house and the ants are attracted to the heat and electricity of the tortoise night enclosure so I need to keep them away. I’ve read several peer reviewed papers on using different insecticides on reptile mites and specifically tortoises. Seems like permethrin is quite reptile safe and the application rate is the same for perimeter ant treatments as the commercially available permethrin reptile mite treatment. I searched on here an no one has ever posted about permethrin though. I would be applying a spray of 0.5% permethrin sfr to the perimeter of their enclosure and allowing to dry before they have access to the area. Thoughts?