To take off from an earlier thread...

I see fire ants are vicious this spring after the Deep Freeze.

Thought I'd share how I control them here at the ranch with great success.

I used to put out Amdro. But I think they must have changed the formula, or something... It just doesn't kill fire ants like it did years ago. Also, after baiting mounds, I started finding dead birds around areas I'd put it around the mounds. Pretty sure they were eating it.


So... Now I use Taurus SC. It's a concentrated termiticide, and killsfire ants and other ant beds like cut ants, etc., never to come back. https://www.solutionsstores.com/taurus-sc-termiticide



Spray the entire mound and all entrances you find. It won't kill them like "right now, this instant"... But it's undetectable to the insects, and they carry it throughout the hive, and spread it to all the insects in the hive, and kills the whole thing within a few days.

Mix it with water just a bit stronger than the label suggests, because you are putting it on the ground where it's absorbed.



I've used it on wild bee hives as well where aggressive bees were keeping me out of certain areas. Spray down the hive, and give it a few days. No bees.

Just thought I'd share, in case some of you are tired of the Amdro game not working.

I do the nests one at a time. Step one is to stir things up. When they come boiling out of the nest, I dust them with just about any kind of ant killer. It gets on them and they carry it back down into the nest. Works every time.

Thanks for sharing

I'll have to tell my dad about this, we have those big red cut ants and their mounds all over the place here! gasoline down the hole works for a weeks but then they're back.
Thanks for sharing

So on this! Thanks!

We need the bees.

I had a huge cut ant mound in one of the pasture locations and another next to a ranch road.

I made up about 20 gallons of the Taurus mix and just drove out and sprayed the mounds and ran it heavy down the entrance holes...

Problem gone. Permanently.



I agree, we do. And on the 3 hives I've killed with this stuff, I couldn't get the local beekeepers interested in coming to get them. They were in tree hollows and such, and I really, really needed them gone, as they were very aggressive, and had stung me several times.

I won't allow them to alter my life, or endanger myself or others.

Looks very similar to Termidor SC, which I've used for Carpenter ants. I sprayed the bottom 2' of my house, fence, and every tree trunk in the yard. I haven't seen any type of ant in over a year.

You just need some horny toads

For the fire ants and the harvester (cut) ants I have had very good luck with this:

If it works on chiggers too, I’m a buyer.

We sprinkle Ortho Orthene on fire ant mounds and go back two days later and try to stir them up but they are all dead.

Took a few days for Amdro to kill a mound in my backyard. If another mound pops up I'm giving this a try.

Fipronil is the best, just use it according to label.

Thanks for sharing.

Been using Ortho Orthene for several years, kills them deader than a 6.5 Weatherbycreedmoorremingtonultramagnum.

I have no fire ants an have not for 20+years and never use any chemicals. Remember they said roundup was safe. Diazanon was safe and on and on.

Is it a secret what you do?

X2

I haven't had them come back from this.

I have about 3 acres in my front yard that has mounds from time to time. A little bit of gas on the mound (just enough to wet it) takes care of them. The gas kills any that it comes in contact with immediately but the 'fumes' being heavier than air settles deep into the underground chamber and kills the rest by the next day.

I don't use enough for it to be an environmental concern....though I'm sure zealous environmentalists will disagree.

I keep using amdro --------- and days later a smaller mound pops up 5 feet away, time to try something else.

That's what happens now.

I spent a fortune on Amdro, and still had as many fire ants as before. And lots of dead cardinals and other birds that would eat the grains of yellow.

It works good for spot treatments, I do my house and container with it. Don’t know if I could recommend for whole yard though.

I usually order from https://www.domyown.com/

Thanks for recommending, I just order 2

Best I've found