pests Getting rid of fire ants

[elnewt]

Hello all,

Looking for ways to get rid of fire ants in my raised bed. I've used diatomaceous earth and all it does is move the little buggers to a different section. I've also got mulch down, which hides where they move to until I pull up a weed in their area and suddenly all hell breaks loose. I've looked at fire ant killers but it seems that everything says not to use in food gardens.

Suggestions?

 

[skullbiker]

Make a paste of cornmeal, honey, and borax. place it where the ants can get it.

 

[Marturo]

You could try this, Spinosad has worked real well for us.

https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-Payback-Fire-Pound/dp/B00534W9R0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Molasses in your plant food could be the attraction.

 

[THeGAME101]

I dont want to be the bummer. You will probably need to bring in heavy insecticides for this problem if its true fire ants. You already know that the different methods only move them to a different area. You need to find the hive and nuke it. Im sorry I cant tell you how to do that.

 

[Marturo]

I dont want to be the bummer. You will probably need to bring in heavy insecticides for this problem if its true fire ants. You already know that the different methods only move them to a different area. You need to find the hive and nuke it. Im sorry I cant tell you how to do that.

The bummer would be to have to use toxins you may not need on your food garden.

Worth a try.

 

[ghostguy8888]

Hello all,

Looking for ways to get rid of fire ants in my raised bed. I've used diatomaceous earth and all it does is move the little buggers to a different section. I've also got mulch down, which hides where they move to until I pull up a weed in their area and suddenly all hell breaks loose. I've looked at fire ant killers but it seems that everything says not to use in food gardens.

Suggestions?You can pour boiling water on the nest if you find it. Did that a few years back and haven’t had an issue in the garden since.

 

[mlh5953]

Make a paste of cornmeal, honey, and borax. place it where the ants can get it.

I've been using multiple applications of Sevin. Which I'm not a fan of using in the vegetable garden, except in extreme circumstances like fire ants.
I'm going to try your borax method next time instead.

 

[HellfireFarm]

If you're wanting Carbaryl for whatever reason (what Sevin USED to be), note that modern Sevin liquid is no longer carbaryl. I think the powder still is.

 

[DWB]

I still like Dursban TC for nuking those miserable bastards. Anywhere around the garden or where our critters go, I shove the wand downhole as far as it will go before pulling the trigger. That's where you have to go to get the queen anyway.

I think TC is long gone. I have a lifetime supply from 30 years ago but there are still some 40-45% chlorpyrifos products available.

Right around the house I use a rose duster with diatomaceous earth. It's not as quick or dramatic but it works.

 

[elnewt]

Thought I had replied to this a while back! Anyway, thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Honestly, I would rather deal with the ants than use something that might make my produce unsafe to eat, so I went with the spinosad. It works. The nests disappear and I will be ant-free for at least a few days. However, with the plethora of ants in the area, a new nest will start up again. But so far I am 2/2 for nests that disappear from my patch. Now I just need the county to treat the surrounding nests so I can stop getting reinfected (my plot is in a community garden, and there are tons of nests in the nearby grassy areas).

Thanks again!