Fire Ants

[amnesiac]

What do you all do to get rid of fire ants in the veggie garden?

[Elphaba]

i can tell you what my dad did when we first got to texas, though i wouldn't recommend it.
he poured gas on them on set them on fire!!!!!! he was a wee bitter about being attacked.
i have heard that boiling soap and water and pouring it down their nest will kill them.

[leafylady]

My organic solutions book says to use a dusty barrier diatomaceous earth around plants and the garden to keep the fire ants out. It says to use a dust mask when applying the diatomaceous earth.

It says directly for the vegetable plants and citrus trees- to apply a sticky substance used to trap insects such as "Stickem or TangeTrap" to the main stems so that the ants get stuck or stay away from the sticky barrier altogether.

[jorgiemom]

This is so funny that you posted this, amnesiac. I was just wanting to ask the same question. We will be moving south and I am an organic gardener. All solutions I've seen regarding fire ants involve chemicals. Now, what do you use to raise your beds? I think the ants like timbers, don't they?

[sarahwebb]

Y'all,

Pouring boiling water on the nests works, but you have to be diligent and do it a lot to finally eradicate the buggers. For the first few times, the survivors will just move the nest over. Also, I've heard people swear by feeding them instant grits, but we haven't tried it.

Good luck--they are evil!
Sarah

[armonia]

I have this same problem and was just wondering what I should do. I bought a house that had a HUGE cement pond in the back yard with a crack in it. It is literally 5 feet deep and 2 feet off the ground. I filled it with dirt and drilled holes in the sides and it is the absolute best garden! I am so happy with it and my plants are thriving already! However, I noticed a fire ant nest (I am in Texas, too...big prob. with ants!) right next to my dill and onions. I was wondering how the heck I can kill the ants without poisoning my plants.
I will try boiling water and see what happens. But that might kill my plants...ANTS ARE EVIL!

[quantumsarah]

This won't kill the ants, but it'll move them. Cayenne pepper. Put it thick on the mounds. It is also cool to have orange mounds to point out to the kids. Ants in gardens won't hurt the plants. In fact, ants aerate the soil, and do a bit of pollenation. However, I know they suck to work around! I'm in central Texas. What we usually do is water the mounds down, which makes the ants move, or poison them with ant bait. It's a granular type thing sprinkled on the ground. Even that doesn't always work. Ants also dislike citrus rinds, so we tend to peel our oranges over them.

[fullcirclesb]

die, die, die!

When I lived in Georgia we used to turn the pile over on a cold morning. The evil ones have a tendency to go under ground to keep themselves warm enough. I don't really know how good this worked but it felt good to do after a few of them bit you.

[amnesiac]

I haven't actually tried anything yet because we've had a lot of rain lately, but I have read in several places to add orange oil & molasses to the hot water. I haven't found the DE to be effective. Dh was telling me that the folks at Texas A&M are doing some research with a species of South American fly that is a natural fire ant preditor--most of our fire ants in Tx are originally from South America. Sound a little scarey to me.

Oh, and to raise the beds I use sandstone blocks. Dh bought them from a landscaping rock supplier. I think they charged like $250 for a one ton flat of stones.