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Getting Rid of Fire Ants

October 19, 2004

Fire AntsTo kill those pesky fire ants use coffee grounds. Don't throw away those used coffee grounds after you perk that pot. Place in a plastic bag and save them. When you find a hill of ants in your yard place them on top and around the hill. Within a few hours the hill will be filled with dead ants.

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Take the grounds on camping trips or other family outings. You never know when you may need them. This really works, I have seen it with my own eyes.

By Libby

 
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14 Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

June 26, 2001

We are having a terrible time with fire ants this year. I don't want to use anything harmful to children or pets. Does anyone have any good way to get rid of them?



By Angie

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Diamond Feedback Medal for All Time! 1,023 Feedbacks
June 27, 20010 found this helpful
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I have found if I pour uncooked grits on and around the mound. The ants will bring the grits down into their hole to eat and it will cause their stomaches to explode.

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It takes a couple of days to get the group of ants to eat the grits, but it works. - Chris

 

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June 27, 20010 found this helpful
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Boiling water annoys the heck out of them! I use this method in my backyard as it does kill the grass! but at least I know it's safe for my dog and the birds that I feed - LindaG

 
June 27, 20010 found this helpful
Best Answer

Hi Angie,
I just posted this to the HappyGarden List just last week. I think you will find it to be of use to you. It was printed in Organic Gardening Magazine, so no need to worry about it being safe, it is safe. I recommended it to one of my friends on the list, as I know how bad fireants are in Florida from first-hand experience. Linne did not think that the DE would be washed away, but said she would place a piepan or something like that over it to help keep the DE in place.

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Mrs Kathy Cohen
Northfields,VT

Safe Ant Antidote: Diatomaceous Earth

Last summer we had dozens of ant hills in our gravels driveway, lawn, and gardens. Then I began finding ants in the house! I used diatomaceous earth (DE), which kills by scratching and drying out the insects rather than poisoning them. In a few weeks, almost all of the ants were gone. I had no worries about using the non-toxic DE, which is the fossilized remains of tiny plants called diatoms.
Mrs. Raymond Suchomel
Necedah, Wisconsin

This sounds like an excelent idea. I would think this would be wonderful to control fireants in your neck of the woods, Linne. I know how bad they get down there in Florida. I do think that you may have to reapply after a hard or heavy rain.

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Kathy
VT 4

 

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June 30, 20010 found this helpful
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You might also try http://www.orangeguard.com -- their product is supposed to be effective against "regular" ants, and is supposedly safe enough for food prep areas! But I don't recall if they mentioned FIRE ants...

I think I read something recently about spreading borax liberally on fire ant hills, but that might not be an option for you due to kids/pets. I think it only takes a couple of days to work though -- could you spread it, then go to Grandma's for a couple of days? Beats having those nasty stings on your feet! - Lisa

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Editor's Note: We called the poison control center about Borax. They said it is generally safe to use unless children or pets eat a lot of it.

 
By Dee (Texas) (Guest Post)
March 24, 20080 found this helpful
Best Answer

I use to work at a daycare, and the health inspectors would not allow insecticides because of the children. The administrator was told to use cornmeal, supposedly they ingest it and can't digest it and it kills them safely. I know it works for regular ants, I am sure it would work for fire ants also.

 
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May 11, 2010

To kill fire ants, boil a pot of water and pour it on your garden bed. The water will kills them instantly and they will not return. The bigger the pot the better.

Source: My grandmother

By Sue from Blanket, TX

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May 12, 20100 found this helpful

This way will be the most hazardous way to kill fire ants too. Trying to get 8 pounds or more of boiling water to the ant bed while it is still hot enough to kill the ants and not splashing it onto your arm or slipping and spilling the contents on yourself.

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The other thing it will do, which is not good for the garden, is to sterilize the ground / soil where it is poor along with killing any vegetation it splashes on.

 
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May 14, 2013

I would like to know a good way to get rid of fire ants.

By Marie W.

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May 16, 20130 found this helpful

I noticed a couple fire ants beds in a flower bed. I sprinkled corn meal on them. After several days I didn't see any ants but when I dug down in the ground they were running around. It seems to contain them for some reason. As long as they don't come to the surface I don't care if they are there. I know, this is strange.

 

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May 20, 20130 found this helpful

I used uncooked grits when I lived in AL, FL, and GA from 1982-2010 (I live in the UK now). I sprinkled a good handful atop the mound, repeated if it rained.

It didn't really kill so much as drive the swarm out of my yard-they'd move the mound ten or 15 feet away, I'd sprinkle more uncooked grits; they'd move, I'd sprinkle...until they moved right out of the entire half acre of lawn and garden.

Another thing you can do is contact your local co-operative extension office or find their webpages online. The online pages will have lots of information on how to handle fire ants in your specific area.

Not as cheap as grits, or the cornmeal suggestion posted by the previous poster, though:)

 
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May 22, 2017

I have 7 ant hills in my back garden. It started off at 5 a few weeks ago. I dug 3 up, but more came in a few days.

I tried Ant Attack, but still the ants are there. I tried ant powder and now I am trying salt. Any ideas anyone?

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September 30, 2012

I need to get rid of fire ants in my yard. I have tried everything, but nothing helps. Can someone tell me what to do?

By Cathy

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October 1, 20120 found this helpful
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I never knew what a fire ant hill looked like until a few years ago and they started showing up here and there in our county. When we found a hill in our back yard, I went to Ace Hardware or Southern States Feed store and purchased a container of Amdro. I think it was around $18.00, not cheap but well worth the price. You just sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons on the hill and they take it into the nest and it kills them. I treated the hill in our back yard about a dozen more hills in the areas where we walk and pick up litter. It quickly solved the problem with fire ants in those areas.

 
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May 10, 2018

I am looking for an all natural way to kill fire ants. We have animals, we have chickens (they help, but not in the garden during growing season), and we have kids. We try to do as much natural remedies as we can. If someone has a recipe to share, I thank you in advance.



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April 16, 2016

How can I keep fire ants out of my dog's food bowls? I've tried chalk, orange peels, and even Vaseline coated bowls. These fierce southern fire ants have proven hard to detour!


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Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
April 16, 20160 found this helpful

Keep the bowls in a tray of water. The ants can't cross water and survive.

 
Anonymous
April 17, 20160 found this helpful

Sprinkle powdered Cinnamon around bowls.

 
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May 8, 2019

Does anyone have a homemade remedy for fire ants? I know one can purchase expensive bait to put out. I bought Amdro I believe it was. The last small bag I purchased was over $30.00. I had to apply it many times as the ants just moved from my yard to my neighbor's and back. With both of us treating we did eventually get rid of them. I think they are brought back each spring by mowing crews. A few weeks after mowing starts we find ant hills and start fighting them.


Help!

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August 9, 2016

I live in Texas and I have fire ants around my Meyers lemon tree. I need a natural recipe to get rid of them.


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September 10, 2011

My mother has a severe problem with fire ants. Lots of things have been tried, but they just seem to move. They are everywhere on her property from trees, to grass, to shrubs, and they are starting to get in my niece's sandbox. Any help would be great.

By Lisa

Answers

September 14, 20110 found this helpful

Corn meal. It's cheap and kills the whole family including the queen. It's safe for animals and kids. They can't digest it and they die. It takes a couple of weeks but soon you will see a lot fewer ants.

 
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May 11, 2010

Is there anything that will get rid of for good fire ants in SC? I am thinking of Decon, the rat poison.

 
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