Fire Ants!

[D-I-A]

I'm working in the yard today and since all this rain. I am getting them from other peoples yards. I go organic for almost everything except for these little bastards but I do not treat my whole yard and when I treat them in my garden I do it the organic way. When you have ants in the yard I spot treat them.

There is the organic way for areas you have your citrus, fruit, and vegetables. That is where you will use coffee grounds. Yes coffee grounds, they are very acidic and the ants cannot stand them. You have to use it after it has been brewed though. The more you put on the mound the faster they leave.

Now if the ants are not in those areas this is when I nuke them. Yes you can boil water and pour it on them but you may not get to the queen and they will just rebuild. This is what you do to kill the mound. Get ortho max fire ant killer put about a 1/4 of a cup of it in a 2 liter bottle and add water. I put in about a 1/3 of water in the beginning and then tighten the lid and shake the heck out of it to make the pellets dissolve. Once the pellets are dissolved add the rest of the water and this will treat about 3 mounds depending on how big they are. Just pour the water on the mounds until they are saturated on the surface.

Give it about 30 minutes and go back out to the mound and move the dirt around and you will see dead ants. One of my brothers master gardener friends taught us that trick.

[Oleander Kayaker]

They just set up shop at another location a short distance away, if I just treat the mound.
I've found that I need to treat the entire yard.

[D-I-A]

That's only if you do not kill the queen. Try the bottle trick and that will solve your problem. I haven't had fire ants in my yard for almost a year but this rain brought them in.

Plus ant killer really isn't the best thing to be washing down our sewers it effects our fisheries.

[JT]

We still have a few gallons of Chlordane from the good ol days. Nothing known to man has ever worked better than that.

Of course, not being able to buy it anymore makes you want to take a bottle of that along with a hot catalytic converter and stick it up Ralph Nadar's As$s and other EPA look alikes and people that want to take care of your well being.

[Muddskipper]

Orange oil
Mix 2oz with a gallon of water and pour it on the mound

Organic and simple

You can get orange oil at Lowes

[Oleander Kayaker]

This is what you do to kill the mound. Get ortho max fire ant killer put about a 1/4 of a cup of it in a 2 liter bottle and add water. I put in about a 1/3 of water in the beginning and then tighten the lid and shake the heck out of it to make the pellets dissolve. Once the pellets are dissolved add the rest of the water and this will treat about 3 mounds depending on how big they are. Just pour the water on the mounds until they are saturated on the surface.

Used Ortho Max on the couple large mounds I have left. Spread it around a 2' radius as well as pouring it and water on top around the mound. Seems to have done the trick, thanks!