They are Back again

The Last two weeks I have been on a Fire Ant Eradication mission , Think a gilloin ants went to meet their Maker. About 150 mounds have been wiped out. Using an old piece of Aluminum I would search to the bottom of old established mounds that those nest were sometimes two feet deep . Then the survivors were tortured till a new nest was not built .. I still have more mounds than can be counted but I am ahead of them this year --- Just in time --- I just found the First few Catapa Worms on a few trees that are about 1 1/2 inches long in the area where I have been killing Ants -- In the Life cycle of the Catapa Moth the worm is the Larva cycle. When grown to full size , those that made it past the Birds go into the ground until they emerge as a new moth [probably next year] -- that is when most die due to stings from the ants, and the reason that so many trees in the south no longer have any moths to lay eggs on the leaves -- most Moths stay in the region of the trees where they lived as worms... WE have several new trees come up around here every year but most are pushing 100 years old, planted by my Grandpaw . I live close to Farmerville and can give some worms to try restoring the Moths to their trees -- but without getting rid of the Fire Ants around those trees and protecting from Birds they still might not survive. I don't want the Moth to become Extinct because so many birds need them to survive and feed their Young

Larry can you elaborate on how your extermination process works. Last year in my garden I would take a shovel full from one pile and put it on the other pile.

Get you a five gallon bucket drill some small holes in bottom to release rain water, put some dirt in it and hang it under a shed eve. When worms on tree are grown throw ten or so in bucket with some leaves. They will grub up in the bucket and in 30 days or so they will hatch to moth and return to lay on your tree. Takes the ants and armodillas out of the game.

My dad lives in Northern AL and he had tons of trouble with fire ants until he got a few game chickens. He said in 1 summer they tore up every nest and ate every single ant. He said the chickens passed a few years ago and he still does not have fire ants. He said if they come back he will go get him a few more hens.

I started out using Bio- Advanced , Complete insect killer the kind used in yard spreader Coverage 10,000 feet for whole yard then I found Spectra-side whole yard type killer is better .. the Bio- Advance was suppose to be put out then wet in afterward --- Spectra side works on contact .. I only worked on the mounds directly and the edge after sturring up the nest -- The survivors built much smaller nest close By , But those nest are shallow. the Old mounds to the center of the earth will keep coming back till you get it all ... I have had Free range chickens here about 6 years till a couple of months ago -- the whole Flock followed the Lawn Mower till they could eat no more Crickets. Years ago I heard the ants would fight and the mound would die out .. I found it was not true here. If you take some dirt with a few ants and fill a hole you have now created a brand new Mound in exactly the spot the dirt went --- I dont think there is enough Poision on the Plannet to kill them now.. they Missed their chance when the ship load of lumber came into New Orleans with the ants in it .. they should have pulled the ship back out in the gulf and burned it to the water Line

Larry I use Talstar. It's available from most feed and seed stores. It's granular, not a poison, stays where you put it, wont wash away and I spread it twice a year. It's good for six months. I do the whole yard and when i find a nest I put a little extra. A nest treated will not produce a smaller nest in a few days. Once and done. Check it out, you wont be sorry.
"gene"

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Originally Posted by PawPaw "gene"

Larry I use Talstar. It's available from most feed and seed stores. It's granular, not a poison, stays where you put it, wont wash away and I spread it twice a year. It's good for six months. I do the whole yard and when i find a nest I put a little extra. A nest treated will not produce a smaller nest in a few days. Once and done. Check it out, you wont be sorry.
"gene"

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Technically it is a poison just not in liquid form.
I’ve heard it works good.

I have good luck with 75% Acephate . It’s in a powder form.
Martin is the brand name. I found it at my local Ace hardware


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I will have to track down that Talstar cause I have to pretty well keep it to the Mounds... Might try the Bucket Nursery -- it might kind of be like watching Grass Grow

Some good info.

Larry. I use a product called Taurus. I got it at Sanders chemical in Rayville, but O'Neal's in ruston had it cheaper. Takes 4 oz. per acre. Just mix it with however much water it takes your sprayer to cover an acre. Spray before a rain. It will soak in and in a few days you shouldn't have any fire ants. I have used it for years with great results. It is actually a repellant not a poison. They will move a few feet past the perimeter you sprayed and build but they won't be in your yard anymore. Spray once a year.

This took care of all my fire ant problems -----> Hi - Yield Bug Blaster 2.

Grass and garden friendly. Also good for chinch bugs in St. Augustine grass.

https://www.fertilome.com/ProductIma...-33326-L_1.png

Bug Blaster II Granules (11.5 lbs)

Provides broad spectrum control of insect pests in Lawns, Landscapes, Perimeter around Homes and Buildings. 11.5 lb. bag treats up to 5,000 sq. ft. 23 lb. bag treats up to 10,000 sq. ft. Controls FireAnts, Fleas, Ticks, Mole Crickets, Chinch Bugs, European Crane Flies, Scorpions and other listed insect pests.

Tal star active ingredient is Bifenthrin which is a neurotoxin which affects their nervous system by direct contact and not by it being ingested as a bait or poison. Bifenthrin is the active ingredient in many of the products used to control fire ants.
“gene”


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Well I use amdro mostly. Takes a few days but it gets the hill. If I need a quick knockdown I use an ortho or Bayer dust. However for a deep kill you need a bait like Amdro.
Today I harvested a bunch of worms. My tree was loaded but they were not that big. My neighbor has a tree about 20 ft tall that was fully leafed out yesterday and most of the leaves are stripped today. It has some very big orms on it. I picked a bunch of them (with his permission) and some of mine. Hopefully this will be the start of us having worms every year.. I plan on starting more trees so my grandsons can fish with them.

I think that any fire ant killer that contains acephate is the best, however my dad likes to spray liquid sevin on them. I'm not convinced.

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if you did have worms, they would be eaten by the chickens and the pesticide would kill them as well

best thing I have found for killing ants is dawn dish soap (works for any ant/wasp). Mix a half cup with 5 gallons of water and pour on top of mound. You may have to do it again in order to get it all the way into the mound, but it will kill every one it touches. Great wasp killer too. Put in pump up sprayer and spray the nest, they will drop like flies very eco friendly too