AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH! FIRE ANTS!

Fx51LP308

Fx51LP308

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Minuteman
    • Apr 8, 2021
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    4,417
    Tampa Bay, FL
    #1
    I started to see a few mounds come up within the cracks of my driveway. I was able to sweep the mounds away and apply Raid "Ant & Roach" killer to those cracks. It seems to have worked for the cracks. But now they made a huge mound at the base of my little patch of lawn where my mail box is located. I bought some "lawn pest killer" in granular form and a spreader. I wanted to confine the spread of the pesticide. But first, I had to knock down he mound and rake out the grass.

    BIG MISTAKE!

    They swarmed all up my pants legs, etc. And they HURT! Immediately, I brushed off my legs and calves. And I got some more Raid Ant & Roach killer for concrete parts of the driveway. I was able to spread the granular insect killer on the lawn itself and wet it down. It's also going to rain tomorrow so, hopefully, that will help. I have a liquid insect killer arriving on Wednesday from Amazon and I'll apply that as needed.

    As for my skin, I'll watch for the welts they say fire ants leave, followed by the blisters. I'm hoping the infestation wasn't that bad but we'll see. I did ensure that I was completely brushed off before I went inside my house, and I then took a shower to wash off the wounds...... BTW, USE COLD WATER, NOT HOT!!!
    Ask me how I know.... :eek: :ROFLMAO:

    The greater question is did I kill all the entire infestation or not and how did it get there in the first place? I'll check around the neighborhood but I don't see my neighbors having these issues. I can't imagine someone just dumping a colony on my property and they just "burried down." These came from the ground up. I have to figure out where they came from and how to take'em down. But I guess I may have to wear PPE when I do it so I don't get bit.

    UGGGHH!
     
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    #2
    Bifen. Mix up and spray any mounds and the entire yard. Instruction for mound mix % and for broadcast spray %. It will keep them out a whole season in NC. We had no fire ants 15 years ago. Now I spray the yard and pastures every year or they will take over. Bifen is a contact killer with a good residual. They carry it down in the mound on their feet/bodies and it will smoke a mound and prevent them from encroaching your space.
     
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    #3
    You must be new to the south. They suck and you will not get rid of fire ants. You just manage the number. The queens will fly and establish new colonies - usually right before a rain. For an isolated mound you can buy a powder to treat. Best bet is to do your entire yard with the products that advertise they last for 6 months. These are spread and watered in.
     
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    #5
    I've used this stuff around the house and in pastures:

    https://www.amdro.com/

    It will knock out a colony in about 4 days. First day put a little in every hole you can find. The next day there will be fewer ants, put more in the holes and look for new ones and treat them too. After day three, you'll probably be able to count the number of ants on one hand.

    I get mine at Tractor Supply.

    Pete
     
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    #6
    Dealt with them most of my life growing up in South and Central Texas and not just little mounds here and there.
    I remember some cow pastures you could look out accross and the whole fields were littered with large mounds.
    They were a nuisance to the point that freshly dropped calves and fawns were at a real risk as they would swarm the eyes, nose and mouth and can and would kill them.
    A place we used to fish and hunt squirrels when I was younger was also a huge old grown pecan Grove near the river.
    I was hiding behind a big ass pecan tree waiting for my friends to pull up from a store run.
    By the time I realized I had a problem I looked over and my shoulder that was touching the tree and was completely covered from my collar bone all the way around my shoulder.
    It took my friends a minute to figure out why I was running around like Ricky Bobby trying to put out the imaginary flames🔥
     
    #9
    Like this?

    IMG_8712.jpeg
     
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    #10
    Fx51LP308 said:
    I started to see a few mounds come up within the cracks of my driveway. I was able to sweep the mounds away and apply Raid "Ant & Roach" killer to those cracks. It seems to have worked for the cracks. But now they made a huge mound at the base of my little patch of lawn where my mail box is located. I bought some "lawn pest killer" in granular form and a spreader. I wanted to confine the spread of the pesticide. But first, I had to knock down he mound and rake out the grass.

    BIG MISTAKE!

    They swarmed all up my pants legs, etc. And they HURT! Immediately, I brushed off my legs and calves. And I got some more Raid Ant & Roach killer for concrete parts of the driveway. I was able to spread the granular insect killer on the lawn itself and wet it down. It's also going to rain tomorrow so, hopefully, that will help. I have a liquid insect killer arriving on Wednesday from Amazon and I'll apply that as needed.

    As for my skin, I'll watch for the welts they say fire ants leave, followed by the blisters. I'm hoping the infestation wasn't that bad but we'll see. I did ensure that I was completely brushed off before I went inside my house, and I then took a shower to wash off the wounds...... BTW, USE COLD WATER, NOT HOT!!!
    Ask me how I know.... :eek: :ROFLMAO:

    The greater question is did I kill all the entire infestation or not and how did it get there in the first place? I'll check around the neighborhood but I don't see my neighbors having these issues. I can't imagine someone just dumping a colony on my property and they just "burried down." These came from the ground up. I have to figure out where they came from and how to take'em down. But I guess I may have to wear PPE when I do it so I don't get bit.

    UGGGHH!
    Click to expand...
    That is NOT the way to kill a mound - you do not need to rake out the grass. I grew up in South Ga and killing fire ants was a hobby and recreational. Get a pyrethroid based insecticide as an EC (emulsifiable concentrate), dilute at the appropriate concentration in a bucket large enough to give around three gallons of emulsion. Disturb the mound with something long enough to keep you away from the swarm. Drench the mound with the entire contents of the bucket. You want enough water to soak the entire mound in order to get the queen.

    Do NOT waste time with granular killers because they are not as effective as the drenching technique. This method is tried and true.

    Okay, there is a caveat with drenching:

    1. If you use a pyrethroid DO NOT get the concentrate or dilution on your skin. Contact with pyrethroids can cause paresthesia which is a burning sensation that can last up to 24 hours. Vitamin E cream can reduce the irritation. If you go this route use gloves. DO NOT touch your face, eyes or junk.

    If that makes you nervous baits are an option but ants are very smart. If they see workers dying for no reason they will evacuate the mound and save the queen.
     
    Last edited:
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    #11
    concentrate orange oil. 1-2oz per gallon of water and pour it on the mound slow enough that the mound absorbs it and it flows all down the passages. Cooks them from what I know about it.

    My experience with any poison is they flee the poison and simply move elsewhere in your yard.
     
    #13
    For Fire ant bites, mix up a paste of meat tenderizer & water, apply the paste to the spot and leave on for a while, until the pain goes away. Works similar to tobacco on a bee sting.

    Big box stores have a granule sized "fire ant killer" under several names, I've used Spectrcide brand for several years with good success. Some mounds require 2 treatments, but I usually spread the killer granules out away & around from the mound to keep 'em from moving or spreading.
     
    #14
    In the great flood of 2016 (as in most floods) when the fire ant mound is flooded, they will go into a bug ball and keep moving to so that the ants on the bottom will remained submerged for only a short period. It is not recommended that when wading, that you step into one of these balls.

    IMG_4599.jpeg
     
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    #18
    right that all you can do is suppress them aggressively. many chems to use just got to try a few. personally concerned about baits as i don't want to wipe out the squirrels. i try to keep them from taking over completely. that is not easy. you will never wipe them out. have had good luck with ,brand name,"wisdom pro l&h".
     
    #20
    Taurus Trio G:

    TAURUS® TRIO G

    CSI-Pest general insecticides for professional pest managers.
    www.controlsolutionsinc.com www.controlsolutionsinc.com

    Kinda expensive but been applying annually to my 3 acre yard for the past 5 years (after repeated failed other tried and true remedies) and truthfully, literally, have not had a single mound during that time. Once a year in the spring and your done.

    I hate those little bastards. First experience was squatting down on a mound in some cat tails dove hunting down by Houston. Shucked those overalls down to my tidy whites right quick and in a hurry. Was a guest hunt on a prison farm and made quite the first impression. Wasn't invited back.
     
    #21
    The blisters will come up tomorrow. Just like a zit. They pop like a zit, but then they will ooze for a day or two and itch the whole time. Something that helps decrease the mounds until you get a permanent fix, is instant grits. Sprinkle dry instant grits on the mound. Works kind of like the alkaseltzer/seagull thing. It’s not a permanent fix, but will hurt the mound and slow its growth till you get to the store for something better. Plus, if you live in the south, you probably already have some in the pantry.
     
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    #23
    bmash said:
    You must be new to the south.
    Click to expand...

    Not *that* new. I will have been living here permanently for 10 years at the end of this month, and in my house for 10 years in late Sept. But it's the first time in all that time I've had this level of infestation.

    bmash said:
    They suck and you will not get rid of fire ants. You just manage the number. The queens will fly and establish new colonies - usually right before a rain. For an isolated mound you can buy a powder to treat. Best bet is to do your entire yard with the products that advertise they last for 6 months. These are spread and watered in.
    Click to expand...

    I should get my supply of Amdro "Fire Ant" killer today. I'll start the treatments immediately. And since it will rain tomorrow, hopefully, that will help it sink in.

    All is as well as can be, as of this morning. Some itching around the calves, but no huge welts or blisters, as of yet. Maybe they didn't get me as bad as it seemed. I'll keep you posted.
     
    #24
    Fx51LP308 said:
    I started to see a few mounds come up within the cracks of my driveway. I was able to sweep the mounds away and apply Raid "Ant & Roach" killer to those cracks. It seems to have worked for the cracks. But now they made a huge mound at the base of my little patch of lawn where my mail box is located. I bought some "lawn pest killer" in granular form and a spreader. I wanted to confine the spread of the pesticide. But first, I had to knock down he mound and rake out the grass.

    BIG MISTAKE!

    They swarmed all up my pants legs, etc. And they HURT! Immediately, I brushed off my legs and calves. And I got some more Raid Ant & Roach killer for concrete parts of the driveway. I was able to spread the granular insect killer on the lawn itself and wet it down. It's also going to rain tomorrow so, hopefully, that will help. I have a liquid insect killer arriving on Wednesday from Amazon and I'll apply that as needed.

    As for my skin, I'll watch for the welts they say fire ants leave, followed by the blisters. I'm hoping the infestation wasn't that bad but we'll see. I did ensure that I was completely brushed off before I went inside my house, and I then took a shower to wash off the wounds...... BTW, USE COLD WATER, NOT HOT!!!
    Ask me how I know.... :eek: :ROFLMAO:

    The greater question is did I kill all the entire infestation or not and how did it get there in the first place? I'll check around the neighborhood but I don't see my neighbors having these issues. I can't imagine someone just dumping a colony on my property and they just "burried down." These came from the ground up. I have to figure out where they came from and how to take'em down. But I guess I may have to wear PPE when I do it so I don't get bit.

    UGGGHH!
    Click to expand...
    This scene immediately entered my head as I was reading this Story of Failure


     
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    #26
    Other no poisnious means.

    Dish soap and warm water, I persaonlly like very hot as scalding the little bastards makes me feel all warm inside. Dish Soap breaks up the waters surface tension and they suffocate.

    Soda water, it has high levels of Co2 and displaces the oxygen, they can't breath and die.

    Both methods work and won't kill other things or poison your dog.

    If you are really bored you can mix to ant mounds and watch them try to kill each other but the likely hood of also getting bit is quite high.

    If all else fails.

    1739883079198.png
     
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    #29
    God speed in your quest. I only lived in apartments during my FL time so I didn’t have to try to get rid of them but I still had my share of…discomfort thanks to them
     
    #33
    As of 8am this morning, the main mound area is quiet. No activity whatsoever. I'm wondering, though, if the overnight temperature (was 40˚F overnight and 50˚F at present) was a factor in the lack of activity. I did see a few small mounds pop up on the driveway which I was able to dispatch quickly with Raid. But i will wait before I sweep them up. My Ardmo will arrive this afternoon and I'll do those treatments anyway, just to lay a foundation for the longer term.

    As for me, I'm much better. No major welts or blisters. The itching has subsided. Maybe the little bastards cut me some slack.

    Fig said:
    You could do all that shit to kill ants, but this looks like a lot more fun, and you are left with a beautiful sculpture that glorifies God's wonderous creation!

    Click to expand...


    Boy does that bring back HS memories. My Wood shop teacher (who also taught metal shop) allowed me to do an aluminum "Sand Cast" if I were to mount the cast on a wood frame I'd built. That blast furnace was a trip. Ironically, the mold for the sand cast was a flintlock pistol! 🤠
     
    #35
    Dead Eye Dick said:
    In the great flood of 2016 (as in most floods) when the fire ant mound is flooded, they will go into a bug ball and keep moving to so that the ants on the bottom will remained submerged for only a short period. It is not recommended that when wading, that you step into one of these balls.

    View attachment 8620411
    Click to expand...
    Spray the floating mounds with dish soap. The surfactant breaks the surface tension and they can't float.
     
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    #36
    Bayer fire ant powder is damn good. Knock the top of the mound off and sprinkle a small amount on the swarm. Don't use a half a cup or what ever the instructions say, its too much and a waist. Don't get the multi insect one its no good, just the fire ant killer.

    1739887007182.png


    To keep them out of the house I spray a mixture of permethrin and demon on the outside slab footing and about a foot up the wall. I do this about once a mounth, if I fuck around and don't get it done they will be in the kitchen.

    I've been killing fire ants all my life and this works pretty damn good.
     
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    #38
    Fx51LP308 said:
    As of 8am this morning, the main mound area is quiet. No activity whatsoever. I'm wondering, though, if the overnight temperature (was 40˚F overnight and 50˚F at present) was a factor in the lack of activity. I did see a few small mounds pop up on the driveway which I was able to dispatch quickly with Raid. But i will wait before I sweep them up. My Ardmo will arrive this afternoon and I'll do those treatments anyway, just to lay a foundation for the longer term.

    As for me, I'm much better. No major welts or blisters. The itching has subsided. Maybe the little bastards cut me some slack.



    Boy does that bring back HS memories. My Wood shop teacher (who also taught metal shop) allowed me to do an aluminum "Sand Cast" if I were to mount the cast on a wood frame I'd built. That blast furnace was a trip. Ironically, the mold for the sand cast was a flintlock pistol! 🤠
    Click to expand...
    The Amdro is the way to keep them knocked back. If it's going to rain don't put it out, it will just be wasting it. Applying it when the day is going to be bright is best, they will be out feeding. You can get to the point where you can hit them twice a year in the spring and fall and control them pretty much all year. You hit them on those days where they are super aggressive. Spot treatment Bifen and drown the mound works great.
     
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    #41
    502Chevelle said:
    The blisters will come up tomorrow. Just like a zit. They pop like a zit, but then they will ooze for a day or two and itch the whole time. Something that helps decrease the mounds until you get a permanent fix, is instant grits. Sprinkle dry instant grits on the mound. Works kind of like the alkaseltzer/seagull thing. It’s not a permanent fix, but will hurt the mound and slow its growth till you get to the store for something better. Plus, if you live in the south, you probably already have some in the pantry.
    Click to expand...

    No self-respecting Southerner has instant grits in their pantry.

    Maybe at a hunt camp, but probably not even there.

    1739888555032.png
     
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    #42
    ggmanning said:
    Bifen. Mix up and spray any mounds and the entire yard. Instruction for mound mix % and for broadcast spray %. It will keep them out a whole season in NC. We had no fire ants 15 years ago. Now I spray the yard and pastures every year or they will take over. Bifen is a contact killer with a good residual. They carry it down in the mound on their feet/bodies and it will smoke a mound and prevent them from encroaching your space.
    Click to expand...

    Beat me to it. Using Raid is like taking a knife to a gun fight.Bifen (Talstar) is the way to go (and if you lay down $600 of granules, make sure your landscaper doesn't show up early and suck them all up "well cause it was gonna rain on his day").
     
    Last edited:
    #45
    502Chevelle said:
    The blisters will come up tomorrow. Just like a zit. They pop like a zit, but then they will ooze for a day or two and itch the whole time. Something that helps decrease the mounds until you get a permanent fix, is instant grits. Sprinkle dry instant grits on the mound. Works kind of like the alkaseltzer/seagull thing. It’s not a permanent fix, but will hurt the mound and slow its growth till you get to the store for something better. Plus, if you live in the south, you probably already have some in the pantry.
    Click to expand...

    I think you mean like diatomaceous earth. Fossilized silica granules will supposedly cut up their bodies and make them dehydrate but it's really hit or miss.
     
    #48
    502Chevelle said:
    The blisters will come up tomorrow. Just like a zit. They pop like a zit, but then they will ooze for a day or two and itch the whole time. Something that helps decrease the mounds until you get a permanent fix, is instant grits. Sprinkle dry instant grits on the mound. Works kind of like the alkaseltzer/seagull thing. It’s not a permanent fix, but will hurt the mound and slow its growth till you get to the store for something better. Plus, if you live in the south, you probably already have some in the pantry.
    Click to expand...

    Indeed, I'm starting to see a few "mini zits" here and there on my calves, and one on he back of my right hand. I have to fight hard to keep from scratching them.
     
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