Kelly in tx
Member
Today I was using my hay cutter/conditioner and just having an awful time with wet fire ant mounds. Have you experienced similar problems? If so, have you figured out any "solutions"? kelly
- Thread starter Kelly in tx
- Start date
When we lived in ETX, I had some oolld tractor gas, really smelled, wouldn't hardly burn. I figured , nothin to loose and we had some really big ant hills down in the pasture. Sooo I dribbled a bit on that bugger and that really put the run on em!! Gone that evening. Even dug around the mound a bit nary a ant to be found. The spot smelled for a bit but the antses never returned. Just a thought for ya.
Dan
Dan
shaun wallace
Well-known Member
Got em in west Texas too when it rains. Ya they plug sickle mowers.
kcm.MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- NW Minnesota
You can help prevent fire ants by occasionally spreading Diatomaceous Earth where needed. It will work as long as kept dry, but I think it loses its effectiveness once wet.
All natural and no chemicals, so safe for any environment. There is even a food grade Diatomaceous Earth!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
All natural and no chemicals, so safe for any environment. There is even a food grade Diatomaceous Earth!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
blue_tractor_man
Member
There are readily available fire ant baits that work very well. Only a couple of pounds per acre. Amdro, Advion, etc. They need to be applied when there is no dew. I am a licensed applicator and use Top Choice (not a bait) for mound treatments a lot. You have to be vigilant, but you can keep them off your place.
olgentdc
Well-known Member
The pasture land i rent had about 30 mounds on it when i began renting 35 yrs ago. i ran about 20 sows on some 25 acres ,,. used to take a loader of dirt from one mound and take it to another some 10 mounds away and watch the ants go to war against one another.. between that cruel game and the sows rooting out the ants ,.. in 2 yrs the ants were gone
john in la
Well-known Member
While most do not; you need to consider the consequences first; because for every action there is a reaction.
Like a guy that kills off all the imported fire ants but then complains his yard is over run with ticks.
It has also been proven fire ants break the life cycle of the horn fly that is a major threat to livestock.
So while fire ants can be a menace it is often good practice not to eradicate them totally.
Like a guy that kills off all the imported fire ants but then complains his yard is over run with ticks.
It has also been proven fire ants break the life cycle of the horn fly that is a major threat to livestock.
So while fire ants can be a menace it is often good practice not to eradicate them totally.
Texasmark1
Well-known Member
No chiggers is my only benefit. On getting rid of them, forget it. I made a Gator Ette our of an ole JD riding mower upon which I mounted a 4 gallon back pack type sprayer with a 60 psi 2 gpm pump. When I have nothing to do, after a good rain, I see how many times in a day I can empty the tank.
If you can run them out of your hay patch to reside along the fence row you are lucky. Interesting watching is to have a baby's rear smooth, plowed pasture, after a rain smoothed the surface, and in finding a "hub" mound, check out the spoke colonies....or in the spring, knock the top off a mound and check out how many winged "new colony developers" are ready to launch.
Years ago I heard Logic was effective in getting rid of them. Quantity recommended was like $25 per acre. I tested a 10 acre plot. Seemed to work ok for awhile, giving it time for the workers to pick it up and take it to the queen for supper, but priced out of my range for frequent use.
If you can run them out of your hay patch to reside along the fence row you are lucky. Interesting watching is to have a baby's rear smooth, plowed pasture, after a rain smoothed the surface, and in finding a "hub" mound, check out the spoke colonies....or in the spring, knock the top off a mound and check out how many winged "new colony developers" are ready to launch.
Years ago I heard Logic was effective in getting rid of them. Quantity recommended was like $25 per acre. I tested a 10 acre plot. Seemed to work ok for awhile, giving it time for the workers to pick it up and take it to the queen for supper, but priced out of my range for frequent use.
Steve@Advance
Well-known Member
wjytexas
Well-known Member
Kelly, some years back UT investigated using the fire ant's natural enemy from Brazil, the phorid fly to control fire ants. the fly lays an egg on the head of an ant and the larva burrows in to the ant's head killing it. the fly hunts by day and the ants tend to stay in their mounds to avoid them and eventually the colony is reduced or dies. UT bred up a bunch of these flies and a test was tried here in Travis Co (after smaller trial runs) and was very successful however before wider distribution we had a drought which will also control them. afterward no one seemed to get it going again. I really like the idea of something burrowing into the head of every fire ant!
Smalltowner
Member
I never knew armadillos ate fireants.
I don’t get your title about Dagwood. Anyway it’s an interesting video.
I don’t get your title about Dagwood. Anyway it’s an interesting video.
Stephen Newell
Well-known Member
I hope we don't get those flies. Sometimes the cure is worse than the problem. There is a lot of products on the market where you dump a few granules on a mound, water it in and the ants are gone. I have about 7 acres I keep mowed and I treat fire ants a couple times a year and keep them off my place.
DoubleO7
Well-known Member
- Location
- Crystal River, FL
I have had good results by just leveling the fire ant mound.
My theory is they get tired of rebuilding and move to a new spot.
Eventually the mounds move to the property perimeter and then they are the neighbors problem to deal with.
My theory is they get tired of rebuilding and move to a new spot.
Eventually the mounds move to the property perimeter and then they are the neighbors problem to deal with.
Steve@Advance
Well-known Member
Dagwood Bumstead, in the comics...
He a notorious food addict!
He a notorious food addict!
john in la
Well-known Member
[b:654c4848f0]I never knew armadillos ate fireants.[/b:654c4848f0]
The bulk of the armadillos diet is insects.
Ticks; termites; roaches; and yes ants.
The bulk of the armadillos diet is insects.
Ticks; termites; roaches; and yes ants.
Texas Cowboy
Member
- Location
- Texas
Get a disc mower. Tony
Texasmark1
Well-known Member
That works.
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