Raspberry "crazy" ants!

[chickletteSarge]

Over the past week and a half these lil ants have invaded our home! All the articles I have read have told me nothing we ca do other than move! Has anyone had these pest before? My chickens can't keep up with them and today we killed over a pound of them! AND THEY ARE STILL COMMING! Any help/info is greatly apreciated!

 

[Mattemma]

I don't have those type,but have you tried boric acid in various jellies? Maybe some DE around the home.Even some laundry BORAX might be helpful around the house. I have little ants on some of my ornamental grasses,and I used some SEVIN on the plant plus a boric acid/jelly mix bait.

 

[chickletteSarge]

Thanks mattemma, we have tried pyrethrin and some powders but no jellies. I don't want my dogs thinkin they can lick up everything that's in their yard.... the ants aren't biting or stinging they are just I guess trying to move in....

 

[cva34]

Yes there a pain ..But they don't bite or sting .But they love electrial stuff breaker boxes etc .Its kind of like a mass suicide .They can really mess up Stuff...cva34

 

[chickletteSarge]

But how do u get rid of them? I followed a broken trail bach to a huge tree and they seem to be comming from there! If I owned the property id burn the tree but I live in a densely populated ghetto and I don't want to get arrested for burning a tree down for ant removal.... lol I could plead insanity! Crazy ants drove me to do it!

 

[Mattemma]

You could try various ant baits around the tree. If you are lucky they will like one and feed it to the queen,and then the colony will die off. I found ants in one of my favorite hawthorn trees.Killed it. I am putting DE around/on it,and placing some baits.Darn ants.

 

[FireTigeris]

They are at the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens (FL) where they control the populations and have info signs up about them.

You might call them.

 

[chickletteSarge]

Thanks tigeris! Ill look them up!

 

[ashcons]

I just did some reading on those ants and it sounds like you have quite a battle on your hands! I've helped my in-laws reduce the number of "sugar ants," in and around their house and hopefully these solutions can be of help to you.

As mentioned earlier, a boric acid mix with an attractant (it sounds like with the RCA is attracted to sugar and electrical outlents) works as an ant killer. Check out the last part of the page at this link for the sugar/water/boric acid ratio. You should be able to find it at the hardware store and it's a pretty inexpensive solution to try out. I would bait around the tree, or even on the tree (maybe soak cotton balls and nail them to the tree) using jars with holes poked in the top to keep your dogs/kids out of the bait. Since the ants release chemicals when killed that signal to other ants to attack, you might try squashing a few ants on the bait lids/cotton balls to ensure that their confederates congregate to the bait. The right ratio should kill not just the ants at the traps, but also the ants they are feeding - you should notice a decrease in population after a few days if it is effective.

You might also have some luck with diatomaceous earth sprinkled around your house and around the tree trunk. The dust works to dehydrate small bugs that wander through it with its abrasive (tiny, sharp particles) and absorptive properties. You would need to replace it after a rain/sprinklers/windy day. I find this stuff at our local "organic/natural," food store in the bulk section. Wear a dust mask when applying it as you don't want to be breathing it in. The kind used for filtration can cause silicosis and the food grade probably isn't any better for your lungs. It's harmless otherwise to humans and pets - it's used in some dry goods you already consume as a pest preventative.

Good luck to you and hope the information above helps.

 

[akashia26]

might try turning a pest into a boon. get a few tubes of calking, a sponge and some dawn dish soap. find where they are coming in, seal it and wash away the trail. rinse and repeat until they can't find a way in. and sealing all the little cracks lowers your heating and cooling bill.