Amazon Affiliate Link to products used in this video: Martin's Surrender: amzn.to/41KNxqi Spectracide: amzn.to/4gmGLvI Watering can: amzn.to/40iKe93 HISUN Sector 750 provided by HISUN Motors www.hisunmotors.com/ American Made WoodMaxx chippers, tillers and flail mowers: Piney Grove WoodMaxx Affiliate Link: shrsl.com/4qer8 Ballard Mower Blades 10% discount code: PGH10 www.ballard-inc.com New way to fence your land! Cat's Claw Fasteners. Use code PGFREE for free shipping! fencingstaples.com/ Or Amazon Affiliate Link: amzn.to/4dDcaJ7 QC-Mate X-Boom Hydraulic Coupler Clamp: www.skidsteersolutions.com/ Use PINEYGROVEHOMESTEAD for 5% off anything on the website! This is our Amazon store with affiliate links to products we use on the channel. It doesn't cost you anymore and it helps support the channel, THANKS! www.amazon.com/shop/pineygrovehomestead-tractorsandoutdoors Some of our favorite products on Amazon (affiliate links): Mower Blade Sharpener Guide: amzn.to/4dGYZa5 Dewalt 20V Cordless Grinder: amzn.to/4bF2trS Flap discs: amzn.to/3UKEzo0 Grinding wheel: amzn.to/3K95ipi 275 Gallon IBC Tote: amzn.to/3XbxwHs Vise Grip Wire Pliers: amzn.to/3WZ2P6U 12V Pump: amzn.to/4a3AwsI Proven Industries Trailer Lock: amzn.to/3WVzytv Flex Tape: amzn.to/3R4MdWm Mechanix Leather Gloves: amzn.to/3HjoZZf Ratcheting Fence Tensioner: amzn.to/3aEfSX0 6’ Digging and Pry bar: amzn.to/3vH5Agx Welcome to our channel! 🎥 What to Watch Next: Fixing Leaky Pond: ua-cam.com/video/NEwSTg1aOWc/v-deo.html Transforming Our Property: ua-cam.com/video/-jBGEYJea1Y/v-deo.html Baling Hay: ua-cam.com/video/yQJNF3wFm-U/v-deo.html Framing Our Pole Barn: ua-cam.com/video/zWgnTFQeiwI/v-deo.html ➤FOLLOW US on Social Media: Facebook - facebook.com/PineyGroveHomesteadAndMiniFarm/ Instagram - instagram.com/pghomestead/ TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@pineygrovehomestead Our Story: We are six years into a seven year effort of transforming 20 acres of "Piney Grove" in Northwest Florida into our dream homestead/mini farm to be filled with animals and joy. We plan to have a variety of miniature critters on our pastures, raise free-range chickens, grow fish in our pond, garden, plant fruit and nut trees, and harvest wild game. Our goal is to escape the stresses of corporate life and embrace all that country living has to offer as we enter the next chapter of our lives. Follow along on our journey! Thanks for watching and please Like and Subscribe to help our channel!! Brad & Deb
I've used the same smelly stuff for years. I get it at Wal-Mart under the name "Orthene". Maybe I can solve some fire ant mysteries for you. Most mounds are not so important, the queen's mound is. Ants live in huge colonies that may cover a 50-75-foot radius. The mounds are nodes of the same colony. They travel underground from mound to mound. Every ant in the colony is from 1 queen and are all sisters. Poisoning a mound makes them retreat to other mounds or build a new mound. The best strategy I have found is to knock the tops off the mounds, hit every mound at once, and hit the new ones within a day or 2. Moving is very stressful because they can't forage for food while moving. Hitting them in cold weather kills massive numbers of them because they are torpid and can't run away. Good luck!
Here's a nifty trick I learned from someone in Texas: Get yourself some **quick cooking** oats OR grits. (Must be quick cooking!) Check your property so you know where **all** the fire ant nests are. When the ground is dry, and the weather's going to be dry for a few days, put a generous amount of the oats / grits on each and every mound. That's because fire ant colonies are either single queen or multi-queen; if you don't treat them all at the same time, odds are one or more of the multi-queen mounds will survive. The reason the quick cooking oats / grits work is because once the ant ingests it, the stomach fluids cause the cereal to swell up and pop the stomach. Because it works physically rather than through chemistry, the ants don't build up resistance to the chemicals. Because it's cereal, it's 100% harmless to use around children, pets, any stock you have out in the pasture and any hay you harvest. The only downside is that the area has to be dry for it to work. Hopefully this will be useful info for you!
I grew up in Texas and now live in Florida. I have been using Amdro for decades and always have been pleased. Amdro usually is a little more expensive than other brands...but it works! Just recently I was going to transplant some shrubs. I found the area I was going to move them to was infested with fire ants. I sprinkled some Amdro on the area and came back the next weekend to transplant...NO ants. And I dug some pretty big holes to plant the shrubs and didn't find any ants.
Ive also had good luck with it. They say dont put it on the mounds but I have and it still works. There was a rat going in and out of our garage for a week or so, I was trying to catch him and put him somewhere far away, not hurt him. I put some food out and he ignored it. He quit coming in after about a week. Later I found what he had been going in there for. Amdro. He chewed off the top of the container and ate some.
A mound drench of 2 oz Dawn, 1 oz orange oil mixed per gallon of water. One gallon treats a normal mound and two gallons for large ones. Sometimes the ants that were out foraging when the drench occurred will build a new nest a few feet away. This serves a secondary purpose because it levels the hill. I use this in my yard, garden and pasture because I don't like toxic pesticides around my food.
@@davidw9694 I use Dawn to kill all kinds of insects. Wasps, bees, [in spray bottle] roaches , bomber beetles ,spiders, crickets, etc. Just mix with water.
I live in middle Georgia. I use Orthene powder. When opening for the first time do not remove the glued on shipping sticker. Instead use a tool to poke holes in it to turn your Orthene canister into a salt shaker. Sprinkle it around the mound. Do not sprinkle it right on. If it's on the mound the ants freak out and pack up and move and create a new mound nearby. I sprinkle it around the perimeter of the mound. The ants have to walk through it. It sticks to them and they carry it inside. If the mound is very large some ants will escape and form a new mound nearby. But if you monitor your yard you will catch the new mound when it is small and a single Orthene treatment usually finishes it off.
Orthene is the only fire ant treatment I've ever found that kills the queen. Kill the queen and the mound dies. Most of the other only piss them off and they move.
Just what chemicals are in the orthene? It stinks and smells a lot like the the organophosphate that was used on cotton , deadly toxic neurotoxin that is now banned. It would kill a lot of pests and varmints, as well as any animals that ate them,on and on. I think it was called Temic?
I appreciate this info. I live in N Florida and have sprinkled Orthene directly on the hill entry. Takes a day or so, but the little devils go away. Part of the problem? We use outside parties to mow our lawns. They are just going down a list and are very happily giving us whatever they roll across a few miles (?) away. So - am going with a new EV mower and hopefully will tie the Orthene and my mowing ( NOT sharing ) together.
Medina Orange Oil shake well before using. 1/4 cup orange oil to 1 gal water pourall over the mound, if another application is needed apply again. Its organic.
We're on 3 acres so we don't get a single mound, we get several. The most fun way to rid if them is Ant Tag: you need a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel for each player. Wear pants, shoes, and socks. When someone yells "Go!" you get a good shovel-full of an ant mound and put it in your bucket. Run like crazy to a mound that someone else just took dirt from. You pour your dirt full of angry ants onto the new mound of angry ants. Then step back and watch them fight each other to the death. No poison to hurt pets or people, and they do all the extermination for you. You might have to repeat this but it's worth it.
Orthene works on cutter ants as well, some people call them harvester ants. I sprinkle some into the hole so they carry it into their molding area for their food, they eat the mold that grows. It may take 2 or 3 days but all of the ants will die. My place, it seemed like it was overnight, was covered with cutter ant mounds, they destroyed every plant and shrub that we had. We will do some replanting next spring as they are no longer a problem.
@@dr.emilschaffhausen4683 If you sprinkle it on an undisturbed mound, it kills a few and they move the mound. If you kick the top off the mound and sprinkle the same amount, it kills many more, and they still move the mound. If you see eggs and larvae, it weakens the mound a lot and the entire colony (consisting of many mounds) a bit. The best strategy is to keep them moving!
@@knottyboy6086 yall must not have a real fire ant infestation. I can treat about 30 mounds in 20 minutes. I''d have to be boiling water with a giant outside cooker and need a team of people to keep adding water.
Hi. Yes you did wear gloves in your application of the ant poison BUT then 2 days later you were messing with the dirt with bare hands. Believe me when I tell you, that poison remains in the dirt two days after applying poison. Great program and I will certainly try out your method. Please show more caution in the future, for your sake and the people that follow you. Thanks
I was born and raised in Okeechobee Fla. I found two things works for a quick fix spray carburetor cleaner into hill with in minutes there all dead for a slower but will work grits.
@arthurbrumagem3844 Nope. Amdro is a granule bait. The workers carry it to the queen for food and she dies. The rest of the mounds does also. Other non-bait treatments may kill the workers, but the queen only moves to another spot and starts over. Takes Amdro about 4 days to kill an entire mound.
Interesting review. I live in Texas and have treated many fire anthills. I use Amdro which I buy locally but see that Amazon carries it too. It works way better than either of your review products and doesn't smell. Dump a tablespoon or so. I usually stamp on the ground near the nest. Ants come out immediately pickup the granules like they found candy and take it to the queen. Next day for sure, the nest is dead.
I am in Texas dealing with the exact same scenario of heavy rain after a drought. About 20 massive mounds popped up across 3 acres. I’ve used Amdro fire ant bait granules with success in the past however, it seems to be ineffective presently. I will have to give Martins a try. Thanks for the video.
I used a chemical here in Virginia call talstar I used it on two different nests of fire ants and and I had no ants show up at all after I used it. So it worked real well here I haven't seen any more here we don't have a big infestation here in Virginia yet. So maybe it will work for you good luck parrot
I’ve been using a product called Extinguish. It works quite well. The colony doesn’t move, they just disappear. The problem occurs when your neighbors use something that moves them instead of eliminating them.
Thanks man. I noticed all kinds of helpful stuff come out of the woodwork once you posted this one. I'm going to use what you recommended next time I need some
I have the best luck up here in Georgia with a light dusting of Ortho Orthene Fire Ant Killer with no water needed. It takes 2-3 days to kill the ants, but unless the mound is enormous, they don't come back in a different location. It also works on Yellow Jacket underground tunnels when sprinkled into the hole at night.
I use bait on the mounds then I cast the yard. Every 3 days for 2 weeks. This keeps me fire ant free for 2-3 years. A lot of work at 1st but the rewards are worth it
I use spectraside mound killer for several years. I never added water as prescribed. I open the nest and spread the spectraside mound killer on and around the mound. Within two three hours the nest is completely dead. Recommend that you try this method.
I've been spraying mounds and entrance holes with Ortho Home Defense which has a strong residual presence like what is needed to keep invaders out of your house for up to a year. I soak the mound pretty thoroughly and have had very good results.
Cheap dish detergent and water will do the same thing. But no matter what you use, you'll find out eventually, that they keep coming back. They can die right there where you think they are, but just wait a little while....
Amdro for 30+ years, spread about a teaspoon around the mound and they are gone next morning. I've tried several products and amdro is the only one that has worked. Works great in horse pasture as ants carry all bait under ground within the hour.
Retired after 30 (successful) years of Pest Control in Texas. The only advice I will give is. No matter what product you purchase, the first thing you should do before you make any application is READ THE LABEL COMPLETELY. If you read the label and follow it's directions and have negative results then you can chalk it up to product failure.
@@MichaelM-q2q, thank you for posting your comment. Videos like this, specially when they post Bible verses on their videos. Then go on to poison the Earth. What is WRONG with these people! And other natural remedy that doesn't pollute the soil or water or air, or give you cancer....is adding half sugar to the borax. Then adding some drops of cinnamon oil around the parameter of the mound. Ants will not cross cinnamon. If you don't have cinnamon EO, then you can use cinnamon powder.
I'm also a retired pest control professional. I spayed my yard with my rig with a termite killer, can't think of the name but it's active ingredient was fiprenyl , I probably didn't spell it correctly. I'm using Amdro now, it's a bait with an IGR ingredient. Works great.
Dawn detergent is a good desiccant, works on almost all insects. Combined w natural plant, fruit oils should be very effective. Diatomaceous Earth also.
I live in South Louisiana and we have experience with fire ants. My use of pesticides is: if it has to be watered in, your dissolving the poison and allowing it to seep into the mound so when they exit or enter they are bringing it into the mound. the ones you don't water in is either something that they eat and carry to the food store, in the mound for all ants to eat, or possibly this Martin is something that sticks to their skeletons and they carry it into the mound and all the rest of the ants absorb the poison that way. It is like diatomaceous earth, when you sprinkle it around the mound it will work on the skeleton body of the ant and kill it that way, but the diatomaceous earth takes many days with no rain to work. I will be giving this Martin stuff a try for sure, and you might have better luck with the Spectracide water in stuff if you use more water on it. My go to is the yellow chunk ant poison (amdro) that you sprinkle around the mound and leave, they then carry it in thinking it is food and it kills the queen.
Worked in a store that sold acephate. We used to call it "fart in a can". It is a soil fumigant and works well in eliminating a fire-ant mound. The ants will come back eventually, so it is something you need to continue doing.
Lived on a couple acres in Central Florida for nearly 30 years, and of course had my share of fire ants. Tried the usual products and while they somewhat worked it was a constant battle so I spent some time observing the activities of Fire Ants and came up with my own process for eliminating them quickly and easily. One thing I noticed was Fire Ants only seemed to be active during daylight hours, meaning that is when they would go hunting. Normally putting a circle of Amdro ant bait around a mound would be ineffective since the ants would mostly ignore the bait and go for better food. So I decided to make it dark by covering the mound and bait with a #27 washtub since it was the biggest thing I had available. The theory (which proved true) was the ants wouldn't want to venture out in the dark until they were very hungry. And not liking the dark they would grab the first thing they encountered which was the poison bait retreat back underground. It worked, sprinkle the mound area with Amdro, cover with the tub and in 2-3 days the entire mound was dead. Remove the tub and there would be no bait left on the ground, plus the added benefit was didn't have to worry about dogs, birds, or other animals going for the bait, not to mention the kids running around the yard nor the frequent rain showers washing away the bait into the nearest body of water. When I started this method I had about a hundred fire ant mounds on the property, when it worked for the first mound I went full on with getting rid of the ants. Small mounds were covered with 5 gallon buckets (not white), I also had a number of those black plastic mixing tubs so they were put to use. After that I would go for years without a fire ant mound on the property, longer after all my neighbors started using the same method. Let me just add that I hate using any kind of poison so I wanted to keep it at a minimum.
@@kkarllwt When mounds are disturbed the ants may simply move. The thing about using a tub or bucket is it covers the edges and the ants don't sense the outside light.
@@msomething3579 So 1 by 8, 10, or 12 frames covered in an light tight material. Maybe 3 different sizes so they will stack for storage. Sounds like an easy scrap build.
Really doesn't take much of the granules. If you put down more than a 1/2 tablespoon, you wasting product. The first ant to reach the queen is going to kill the queen and the nest will disappear. A couple of hours without rain, without a tub works just as well and doesn't deprive the grass around of sunlight. Amdro, the best fire ant bait, and killer around. At least from my experience with the little demons.
Great information. Thank you! I’ve always used Amdro, my coworker got some Surrender, they both work well. I still prefer Amdro because Surrender does have a very strong chemical smell and stinks up the whole barn. Have a great one. 🐜 👍👌✌️
I've done pest control for over a decade. Always use a bait if you actually want to get rid of the mound. Use products like Advion fire ant bait, Advance 375A or Amdro fire ant bait. Pesticides will only kill the fire ants on the surface. The rest of the colony will leave through an emergency exit that every mound has. As a previous person said, Always read the label and use it as it states.
Ambro bait broadcast once in the Spring and in mid-Summer gives almost complete control. It works well for me in upstate South Carolina. Warmer climates might need a Fall application. In my experience bait works much better than mound chasing in the long run and is much easier.
@@edwardsmith5650 Mound chasing? I would rather prevent the mound. One of those plastic containers lasts me at least two years and I never see mounds. I don't broadcast the bait in areas they don't inhabit such as deep shade. My neighbor's yard and the cow pasture in front of me are full of mounds.
I use Surrender. It is the best stuff out there, but the mounds do move. You have to re-apply sometimes. I find if you spread it well outside of the perimeter of the mound, you get better results.
Greetings from Tennessee. One thing I discovered is the Ortho I use doesn't seem to work as well on Windy days. What I do is put a spoonful of sugar in a spray bottle full of water, lightly mist the mound, apply the product, and then cover it with a 5-gallon bucket. Don't know if that keeps the active chemical from blowing away in the wind or if it's just dumb luck but it seemed to improve the results greatly.
Load up a portable generator and 5 gallon industrial floor vacuum. I had a Craftsman brand. I don't know why they can't crawl up the inside walls of it, but they can't. The dirt of the mound will flatten out with the suction and takes up minimal space in the bottom of the vacuum. The dirt acts like shrapnel killing quite a few. I dig up a little more of the mound with a trench shovel to get to the queen and egg chambers. Not only is it fun, but it leaves no doubt that the ants didn't migrate to make another mound. It's also interesting to see so many thousands of ants in a condensed place unable to escape.
@@TheAAnne123 I know how weird it sounds. I had tried various pesticides and found them useless. As much as I like gas and fire, I knew that was just a bad idea. Not knowing what to expect, I had a can of bug spray ready when I opened the vacuum. I thought it would be seething with ants crawling up the side trying to escape. They were seething, but they weren't getting out. The one thing I absolutely knew was that the experiment wasn't going to make matters worse.
Been attacked a few times (not from Florida) and i do not heal well from the bites I learned that toothpaste is good to neutralize their poison Any healing hints are welcome
Put some coconut oil on a bit, preferably organic, virgin, unrefined (in case you want to use it to cook with, it makes a terrific cooking oil), and give it a few minutes, and it'll stop burning. It's good for mosquito bites too!
Immediately apply a roll on deodorant with antiperspirant (aluminum hydroxide) to the bite or bites. Immediately relieves the sting and minimizes the pustule formation.
They used to sell something called After Bite. Its listed main ingredient was ammonia. So I just rub on some ammonia. It may just be in my head, but it seems to work !!
I have been using something similar, I have found disturbing the mound at the time of application. I take a stick and make a hole in the center of mound. This causes them to track the poison throughout the mound.
Your way is far more effective but mine is more fun. I needed a propane torch to kill grass but it has other uses as well. I found a fire ant mound that needed agitating with a stick then a quick BBQ. I bet this thing will work well on ground yellow jacket nests. Lay it to the side with the heat crossing the entrance. Foam fill is good for ground nests also. Why just do it if you can enjoy it?
Grits applied around the mound after the dew has burned off. Safe and effective in south FL. Another method employed is to take a scoop of ants from one mound and drop it on another and vice versa - let the little buggers go to war and whittle down their numbers.
I try to avoid using chemicals whenever I can, so I prefer to use Orange Oil mixed with water. I use 2 ounces of oil per quart of water in an old dish washing liquid container and just direct the flow of water through the nozzle right into the openings in the mound. The acidity in the oil melts the ants' exoskeleton and kills them stone dead. Since this is a contact killing solution, you do need to pour the whole quart (or more if it's a big hill) into the mound to get to the queen. Take care and God Bless.
@@PineyGroveHomestead I also use orange oil mixed in water. I add just a squirt of dish soap as a surfactant. It really does kill them (not just relocate them).
@@rolandolugo5135 I'm not the original poster but I use orange oil too. I buy mine from the online store with the rainforest name. I buy Bluewater Chemgroup 100% cold pressed orange oil. It really works.
Martins permethrin works wonders too. I buy the 10% kind and mix it at a 1 oz to 1 gallon ration in a 5 gallon bucket. Pour it around the bed first working your way to the top of the mound. At the top of the mound I lift and pour high enough that the flow breaks through the top and goes into the tunnels. Come back 10 mins later and they will all be dead, not waiting no fuss and best of all it's not harmful to pets or you. Also the smell isn't that bad if you get the one for cattle insect treatment that doesn't say "petroleum distillates on it".
I drink the beer and piss on them, not sure it kills them but they get pissed off when pissed on. Did see pissing on them kills them in a video, but being drunk I prefer not falling on them.
a full property broacast of LESCO cross check will provide blanket coverage, you will only find them outside your property line , apply it 2x per year. otherwise you jsut chase them around one mound at a timel
I perform fire ant control in Florida. Advion fire ant bait works best for us. Spread it from an atv. Not heavy and not focused on mounds. Let the ants do what they do- footage for food. The food will be gathered by the foragers and brought to the colony handlers. The ants have 2 stomachs. They regurgitate one to the colony delivering the poison. Do it twice about a week apart. There is nothing that will keep them away, though. They eventually return, so a perimeter watch is key.
I used that when I 1st moved here it was a lot of fun … I just spray Home Defense now… all those powder and granules keep the. Away only for periods of time…those ants are here to stay so just live with them
@@Irene-ke6toif I owned a farm I would rig up a steamer on wheels that would shoot hot water or steam from a nozzle. A pot of hot water worked fine on the three hills in my back yard.
People are idiots. Boiling water works like a charm. If you are a farmer and sit there and watch your field get infested, well, that would be you, wouldn't it.
I've been using surrender for several years and it works! Advice is not to use it on mounds next to your house due to the smell! I am in the south (Mississippi)
Surrender is a great product. It works well for repelling wasps. I use it mixed with water and spray it all the areas around my house where I've seen wasp. I usually don't see them anymore afterwards for a full year. I also use demon at the same time and those together work well to repell most Insects.
How about tolerance issues? You say you used Spec previously. Did it work then? A problem I've seen with insects is they develop a tolerance for commercial treatments.
I use something here in Virginia that kills fire ants it's called Talstar. There was a hill in a neighbors yard and I sprayed the top of the nest and about 3 feet around it. The next day that one was dead but there was a new one about 5 feet away. I did the same to it and no more showed up.
Surrender looks pretty good. I use a garden water can, pour a couple tablespoons malathion and fill the watering can with water and pour the solution on the mound, a good kill most every time. Give it a try, I think you'll be convinced.
When I lived in Oklahoma I used a two liter bottle of Coca-Cola turned over in each fire ant hill. Based on your splash screen, your fire ants are quite a bit larger, and would each need a 55 gallon drum.
I use liquid bayer termite and carpenter ant mix in a sprayer mixed with water. It destroys fire ant mounds completely. I soak the mound then move to the next, etc.
Lived in Florida all my life. I don’t like mosquitos, and love bugs, but I really hate fire ants. I used to battle fire ants. I found something called Orothene by ortho, that stuff works. Smells a little sulfur or rotten egg like and is white powder like, but I haven’t had a fire ant mound in my yard for probably 10 years now.
Bengal brand dust works fantastic and is inexpensive. You need very little. Stir the nest and sprinkle just a small amount. The ants will take the pois on to their queen and in a couple of hours the nest is dead.
Check your label..... acephate is the same active ingredient as Orthene. In my opinion it works best when there is is adequate rainfall and moist top soil. Queen and brood are much deeper during periods of dry weather.
Had 6 acres in AL, used self raising corn meal, about once a week I put about 2 tbs on the mound and what didn’t die left because it would kill so many after 2 - 3 weeks they all moved to neighbors pasture and it was none toxic
@ he just had pasture that all he did was mow it, we had kids and animals, you could tell where the property line was, my side no mounds, his side was covered
Pyrethrin Concentrate, there are organic & non-organic versions, be aware of what you buy. Just mix with water as directed soak mounds thoroughly, works like a charm
I am in Alabama and I have had a lot of problems with fire ants until this past summer when I declared war on them. I bought about 5 different pesticides mixed them all together and added dish soap, I raked back every hill and poured it in the center and within seconds they started coming to the surface frantically piling on top of each other and a few hours latter it was just a pile of dead ants and I haven't seen any since! next summer I am sure there will be more but at least I have a plan that seems to work!
Put enough cheap dish detergent into your water, mixed together and you'll have dead ants within the day. You wasted your money on the pesticides. I've been using CHEAP dish detergent and water, for YEARS. Kills them dead within a day, depending if you use enough dish detergent in your water! Of course they'll keep coming, but nothing can really stop them. I just spend my summer with my 5 gallon of bucket of cheap dish detergent and water, on my rolling cart, and pull it to each hill, pour the water over them, and around them, till the hill is knocked down good, and move on to the next one. It's a Wack-a-Mole situation! I can make a bet that you'll still get those hills, no matter what you use.
Bait - extinguish i think it's called, i sprinkle it around the yard every month or so and first it got rid of them then it keeps them at bay. We seem to live in an area that's heavily infested with fire ants compared to other areas of town. If you use bait, don't spray, they need to bring the food back to the queen. Haven't had any ants in the house for long time now.
Thanks! A few questions please. 1. Why would there be no eggs? All I can think of is, the ants carried the eggs away, which means they did migrate someplace else. Is there another explanation you can think of? 2. If this is a pasture, then you are grazing animals there, right? What's to stop your animals from being exposed to, or ingesting the Martin Surrender? 3. What does the Martin Surrender label say about grazing livestock in the areas where the MS is applied? Thanks for your video and for your response.
I don't know about the eggs as I didn't dig that deep into the mound. It's hard to see shriveled up dead ants with the camera but they are there. I wouldn't recommend using this chemical on a large scale basis for an area that is going to be grazed extensively because it can be systemic in the grass in that area. So treating a few mounds is not going to transfer any measurable amount of chemicals to any grazing animals.
I use 7.9% Bifen that I learned about from Texas Prepper. 1 ounce per gallon. Spray around the mound about 3 times and then spray a straight stream into the mound for about 20 seconds and the mound will die in a couple of days. Hasn’t failed me yet in about 2 years of doing this.
I'll tell you what I use that works great! 'Spectracide Bug Stop Home Barrier'. For indoor/outdoor use. Comes in a gallon jug with built in sprayer at Lowes or Home Depot, etc.. It's the stuff you normally use for roaches. It's odorless and one spray lasts a year. You don't need to soak the ant beds with spray nor water it in. Just spray a little all over the top of an ant mound and the entire bed will die -- and they don't come back. I always spray around the edge of the mounds also. One gallon is less than $8 at Lowes Home supply and will do hundreds of ant mounds.
Every time I find something that works good on the ants they take it off the market sadly I'll see how well your advice works and if it works good I'll keep it and spread the news on I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up Thanks for the link I'll sure be getting it. Having a grandson that doesn't move fast enough when bitten this sure would be great if it works that well. I'm also in Florida in Jacksonville so I should get the same treatment you did
A big thing is you treat the visible mounds very early. I now treat basically in the late winter. I tried pretty much anything sold at hardware stores or Walmart. I too marked the mounds with little flags. Mainly so I could drive around in a side by side and throw a flag near each mound. I would come back with insecticide and walk from mound to mound and not miss mounds. The best thing I found was Orthene. I recommend wearing nitrile gloves and avoid windy days. Orthene kills every mound basically overnight. It seems to work better if you don't disturb the mound. Fire ants don't build mounds in only fields. All through the woods there will be mounds. Usually in the decayed part dead tree that is nearly gone.
Bifen xts. Treat the whole property. Today you have fire ants. Tomorrow you don't. Will last close to a year. I put 12 oz in a 30 gallon sprayer. 10 seconds after you spray a hill they're biting their own butt's dying. Works amazing!
I will try the Martins. Having operated heavy equipment for fifty years I can tell you that fire ant mounds are Networked. They're connected down at the level where the topsoil/loam type dirt stops and clay begins. I don't know if we can ever win the battle?
@ I used to have a good stand of garlic and the ants honed in on it. No matter what I did they came back until they finally killed every single plant. I’m wondering since there’s things they’re attracted to possibly there are plants that would repel them?
Years ago i was using a treatment made by spectricide that hooked to a waterhose. You sprayed on the mound for about 45 seconds. When there was a little foam on the ground you could stop. Killed them every time. Now i cant find it.
I have cross check in my chemical stash anyway, so I keep 2 2.5 gal containers on my truck from May til September, anytime I see a mound starting on my properties I drench it, it usually collapses the mound during this process so it virtually disappears. 100% kill every time.
When I learned about "Ant Wars" I tried it. Works like magic! MOST of the ant hills were wiped out and the winners were finished off with a natural ant kill from Gardens Alive. When I bought my place 30 years ago we couldn't walk in the yard without being attacked by fire ants. After using ant wars and the Gardens Alive liquid ant killer, I didn't see another ant for 10 years! They finally started moving back in from surrounding areas and it was really easy to wipe them out again. Sadly, Gardens Alive no longer sells the liquid ant killer, but they do have the granules by the same name. I bought them to try and have my fingers crossed that it works.
5 gallon bucket full of warm/hot water. Add one cup of dawn dishwashing liquid and 1-2 tablespoons peppermint oil. Mix carefully now to suds up the soap. Dump the bucket over the mound. Kills everything. Used it for 10 years.
I have used boiling hot soapy water for many years and find that it works very well. There are no new nests that show up at least for the rest of the year.
I've wiped out multiple fire-ant nests with simple corn meal. No environmental concerns, cheap, & you can keep it in your cupboards for years at a time.
Amazon Affiliate Link to products used in this video:
Martin's Surrender: amzn.to/41KNxqi
Spectracide: amzn.to/4gmGLvI
Watering can: amzn.to/40iKe93
HISUN Sector 750 provided by HISUN Motors
www.hisunmotors.com/
American Made WoodMaxx chippers, tillers and flail mowers:
Piney Grove WoodMaxx Affiliate Link: shrsl.com/4qer8
Ballard Mower Blades 10% discount code: PGH10
www.ballard-inc.com
New way to fence your land! Cat's Claw Fasteners.
Use code PGFREE for free shipping!
fencingstaples.com/
Or Amazon Affiliate Link: amzn.to/4dDcaJ7
QC-Mate X-Boom Hydraulic Coupler Clamp:
www.skidsteersolutions.com/
Use PINEYGROVEHOMESTEAD for 5% off anything on the website!
This is our Amazon store with affiliate links to products we use on the channel. It doesn't cost you anymore and it helps support the channel, THANKS!
www.amazon.com/shop/pineygrovehomestead-tractorsandoutdoors
Some of our favorite products on Amazon (affiliate links):
Mower Blade Sharpener Guide: amzn.to/4dGYZa5
Dewalt 20V Cordless Grinder: amzn.to/4bF2trS
Flap discs: amzn.to/3UKEzo0
Grinding wheel: amzn.to/3K95ipi
275 Gallon IBC Tote: amzn.to/3XbxwHs
Vise Grip Wire Pliers: amzn.to/3WZ2P6U
12V Pump: amzn.to/4a3AwsI
Proven Industries Trailer Lock: amzn.to/3WVzytv
Flex Tape: amzn.to/3R4MdWm
Mechanix Leather Gloves: amzn.to/3HjoZZf
Ratcheting Fence Tensioner: amzn.to/3aEfSX0
6’ Digging and Pry bar: amzn.to/3vH5Agx
Welcome to our channel! 🎥 What to Watch Next:
Fixing Leaky Pond: ua-cam.com/video/NEwSTg1aOWc/v-deo.html
Transforming Our Property: ua-cam.com/video/-jBGEYJea1Y/v-deo.html
Baling Hay: ua-cam.com/video/yQJNF3wFm-U/v-deo.html
Framing Our Pole Barn: ua-cam.com/video/zWgnTFQeiwI/v-deo.html
➤FOLLOW US on Social Media:
Facebook - facebook.com/PineyGroveHomesteadAndMiniFarm/
Instagram - instagram.com/pghomestead/
TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@pineygrovehomestead
Our Story:
We are six years into a seven year effort of transforming 20 acres of "Piney Grove" in Northwest Florida into our dream homestead/mini farm to be filled with animals and joy. We plan to have a variety of miniature critters on our pastures, raise free-range chickens, grow fish in our pond, garden, plant fruit and nut trees, and harvest wild game. Our goal is
to escape the stresses of corporate life and embrace all that country living
has to offer as we enter the next chapter of our lives. Follow along on our
journey!
Thanks for watching and please Like and Subscribe to help our channel!!
Brad & Deb
You're putting way to much, you should use spreader. Old lady at Lowe's told me that and she knew what she was talking about!!
Turkeys and birds will eat that stuff. Please don't use so much. Broadcast.
Groundwater contamination is important!!!
I've used the same smelly stuff for years. I get it at Wal-Mart under the name "Orthene". Maybe I can solve some fire ant mysteries for you. Most mounds are not so important, the queen's mound is. Ants live in huge colonies that may cover a 50-75-foot radius. The mounds are nodes of the same colony. They travel underground from mound to mound. Every ant in the colony is from 1 queen and are all sisters. Poisoning a mound makes them retreat to other mounds or build a new mound. The best strategy I have found is to knock the tops off the mounds, hit every mound at once, and hit the new ones within a day or 2. Moving is very stressful because they can't forage for food while moving. Hitting them in cold weather kills massive numbers of them because they are torpid and can't run away. Good luck!
💯👍
Here's a nifty trick I learned from someone in Texas: Get yourself some **quick cooking** oats OR grits. (Must be quick cooking!) Check your property so you know where **all** the fire ant nests are. When the ground is dry, and the weather's going to be dry for a few days, put a generous amount of the oats / grits on each and every mound. That's because fire ant colonies are either single queen or multi-queen; if you don't treat them all at the same time, odds are one or more of the multi-queen mounds will survive. The reason the quick cooking oats / grits work is because once the ant ingests it, the stomach fluids cause the cereal to swell up and pop the stomach. Because it works physically rather than through chemistry, the ants don't build up resistance to the chemicals. Because it's cereal, it's 100% harmless to use around children, pets, any stock you have out in the pasture and any hay you harvest. The only downside is that the area has to be dry for it to work. Hopefully this will be useful info for you!
genius!
This method absolutely works.
That's a more intelligent creative answer we werre looking for !
I grew up in Texas and now live in Florida. I have been using Amdro for decades and always have been pleased. Amdro usually is a little more expensive than other brands...but it works!
Just recently I was going to transplant some shrubs. I found the area I was going to move them to was infested with fire ants. I sprinkled some Amdro on the area and came back the next weekend to transplant...NO ants. And I dug some pretty big holes to plant the shrubs and didn't find any ants.
Amdro is a good product.
@@michaeldavidfigures9842 It always worked for me.
Done the same thing in Alabama. Spectracide is pure waste of time and money. I left a comment too.
Ive also had good luck with it. They say dont put it on the mounds but I have and it still works.
There was a rat going in and out of our garage for a week or so, I was trying to catch him and put him somewhere far away, not hurt him. I put some food out and he ignored it. He quit coming in after about a week. Later I found what he had been going in there for. Amdro. He chewed off the top of the container and ate some.
@bunberrier Does it kill rats?
A mound drench of 2 oz Dawn, 1 oz orange oil mixed per gallon of water. One gallon treats a normal mound and two gallons for large ones. Sometimes the ants that were out foraging when the drench occurred will build a new nest a few feet away. This serves a secondary purpose because it levels the hill. I use this in my yard, garden and pasture because I don't like toxic pesticides around my food.
I use Dawn, orange oil and agricultural molasses on fire ants in my garden. Seems to work pretty well.
I use boiling water. Seems to work great
@@tdvanwinkle. It works but isn’t a practical solution for multiple mounds
@@davidw9694 I use Dawn to kill all kinds of insects. Wasps, bees, [in spray bottle] roaches , bomber beetles ,spiders, crickets, etc. Just mix with water.
Foraging ants can't create a new colony. Only queens can. Your homemade ant killer isn't being 100% effective.
I live in middle Georgia. I use Orthene powder. When opening for the first time do not remove the glued on shipping sticker. Instead use a tool to poke holes in it to turn your Orthene canister into a salt shaker. Sprinkle it around the mound. Do not sprinkle it right on. If it's on the mound the ants freak out and pack up and move and create a new mound nearby. I sprinkle it around the perimeter of the mound. The ants have to walk through it. It sticks to them and they carry it inside. If the mound is very large some ants will escape and form a new mound nearby. But if you monitor your yard you will catch the new mound when it is small and a single Orthene treatment usually finishes it off.
Orthene is the only fire ant treatment I've ever found that kills the queen. Kill the queen and the mound dies. Most of the other only piss them off and they move.
Just what chemicals are in the orthene? It stinks and smells a lot like the the organophosphate that was used on cotton , deadly toxic neurotoxin that is now banned. It would kill a lot of pests and varmints, as well as any animals that ate them,on and on. I think it was called Temic?
I appreciate this info. I live in N Florida and have sprinkled Orthene directly on the hill entry. Takes a day or so, but the little devils go away. Part of the problem? We use outside parties to mow our lawns. They are just going down a list and are very happily giving us whatever they roll across a few miles (?) away. So - am going with a new EV mower and hopefully will tie the Orthene and my mowing ( NOT sharing ) together.
Texas here and yes it’s so effective 👍💯
Yep, I'm in SC and do the same, it works. :)
Medina Orange Oil shake well before using. 1/4 cup orange oil to 1 gal water pourall over the mound, if another application is needed apply again. Its organic.
We're on 3 acres so we don't get a single mound, we get several. The most fun way to rid if them is Ant Tag: you need a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel for each player. Wear pants, shoes, and socks. When someone yells "Go!" you get a good shovel-full of an ant mound and put it in your bucket. Run like crazy to a mound that someone else just took dirt from. You pour your dirt full of angry ants onto the new mound of angry ants. Then step back and watch them fight each other to the death. No poison to hurt pets or people, and they do all the extermination for you. You might have to repeat this but it's worth it.
Never hear of that!
I have heard of that, tried it nothing....
You've lost your mind...
We use Ortho Orthene. Kills the entire nest in 24 hours or less and they don't come back. Just sprinkile a bit on top. No water needed.
Orthene works on cutter ants as well, some people call them harvester ants. I sprinkle some into the hole so they carry it into their molding area for their food, they eat the mold that grows. It may take 2 or 3 days but all of the ants will die. My place, it seemed like it was overnight, was covered with cutter ant mounds, they destroyed every plant and shrub that we had. We will do some replanting next spring as they are no longer a problem.
Same active ingredient ... acephate.
That's what I use. Works like a charm. No water needed.
Does it kill the mound or do they just move somewhere else?
@@dr.emilschaffhausen4683 If you sprinkle it on an undisturbed mound, it kills a few and they move the mound. If you kick the top off the mound and sprinkle the same amount, it kills many more, and they still move the mound. If you see eggs and larvae, it weakens the mound a lot and the entire colony (consisting of many mounds) a bit. The best strategy is to keep them moving!
I use boiling water. Works every time and it's free.
Same here. Boiling water works every time.
@@knottyboy6086 yall must not have a real fire ant infestation. I can treat about 30 mounds in 20 minutes. I''d have to be boiling water with a giant outside cooker and need a team of people to keep adding water.
@@fordguyfordguy If that bad use gasoline
@@knottyboy6086 diesel works well too and its fertilizer spot will green right back up
Hi. Yes you did wear gloves in your application of the ant poison BUT then 2 days later you were messing with the dirt with bare hands. Believe me when I tell you, that poison remains in the dirt two days after applying poison. Great program and I will certainly try out your method. Please show more caution in the future, for your sake and the people that follow you. Thanks
Acephate does not hurt mammals., It is deadly to ants.m you can also use it for roaches although it’s not labeled for them.
I was born and raised in Okeechobee Fla. I found two things works for a quick fix spray carburetor cleaner into hill with in minutes there all dead for a slower but will work grits.
Have used Amdro for over 30 years and very satisfied.
So the ants haven’t built up a resistance? Always my concern
@arthurbrumagem3844 Nope. Amdro is a granule bait. The workers carry it to the queen for food and she dies. The rest of the mounds does also. Other non-bait treatments may kill the workers, but the queen only moves to another spot and starts over. Takes Amdro about 4 days to kill an entire mound.
@@jerryware5749 just hate those damn things for what they do to nesting bird populations
Interesting review. I live in Texas and have treated many fire anthills. I use Amdro which I buy locally but see that Amazon carries it too. It works way better than either of your review products and doesn't smell. Dump a tablespoon or so. I usually stamp on the ground near the nest. Ants come out immediately pickup the granules like they found candy and take it to the queen. Next day for sure, the nest is dead.
I'll have to look into that!
I am in Texas dealing with the exact same scenario of heavy rain after a drought. About 20 massive mounds popped up across 3 acres. I’ve used Amdro fire ant bait granules with success in the past however, it seems to be ineffective presently. I will have to give Martins a try. Thanks for the video.
We are in the same boat, but it seems to be working for us.
I used a chemical here in Virginia call talstar I used it on two different nests of fire ants and and I had no ants show up at all after I used it. So it worked real well here I haven't seen any more here we don't have a big infestation here in Virginia yet. So maybe it will work for you good luck parrot
I’ve been using a product called Extinguish. It works quite well. The colony doesn’t move, they just disappear. The problem occurs when your neighbors use something that moves them instead of eliminating them.
They now sell extinguish ‘plus’….more bang for your buck
Thanks man. I noticed all kinds of helpful stuff come out of the woodwork once you posted this one. I'm going to use what you recommended next time I need some
Living in central Texas, I've used the spectracide on ant mounds but never watered it down and by the next day all ants were gone.
Also here in central Texas. Use Spectracide Triaziicide insect killer for lawns, works great.
I have the best luck up here in Georgia with a light dusting of Ortho Orthene Fire Ant Killer with no water needed. It takes 2-3 days to kill the ants, but unless the mound is enormous, they don't come back in a different location. It also works on Yellow Jacket underground tunnels when sprinkled into the hole at night.
I’ve had great luck with Orthene here in Florida as well…
Same active ingredient as the Martin’s he is using.
@@Kickapoo_creek he's watering, I'm not
I use bait on the mounds then I cast the yard. Every 3 days for 2 weeks. This keeps me fire ant free for 2-3 years. A lot of work at 1st but the rewards are worth it
I use spectraside mound killer for several years. I never added water as prescribed. I open the nest and spread the spectraside mound killer on and around the mound. Within two three hours the nest is completely dead.
Recommend that you try this method.
Surrender is the best that I've found. 1 treatment a year for $20 isn't bad compared to multiple treatments needed with other brands.
I've been spraying mounds and entrance holes with Ortho Home Defense which has a strong residual presence like what is needed to keep invaders out of your house for up to a year. I soak the mound pretty thoroughly and have had very good results.
Cheap dish detergent and water will do the same thing. But no matter what you use, you'll find out eventually, that they keep coming back. They can die right there where you think they are, but just wait a little while....
Thanks for a very helpful video. You did a great job. I appreciate it.
Amdro for 30+ years, spread about a teaspoon around the mound and they are gone next morning. I've tried several products and amdro is the only one that has worked. Works great in horse pasture as ants carry all bait under ground within the hour.
Retired after 30 (successful) years of Pest Control in Texas. The only advice I will give is. No matter what product you purchase, the first thing you should do before you make any application is READ THE LABEL COMPLETELY. If you read the label and follow it's directions and have negative results then you can chalk it up to product failure.
Get a box of borax .
@@MichaelM-q2q, thank you for posting your comment. Videos like this, specially when they post Bible verses on their videos. Then go on to poison the Earth. What is WRONG with these people!
And other natural remedy that doesn't pollute the soil or water or air, or give you cancer....is adding half sugar to the borax.
Then adding some drops of cinnamon oil around the parameter of the mound. Ants will not cross cinnamon. If you don't have cinnamon EO, then you can use cinnamon powder.
@@MichaelM-q2qyes I've used borax and powdered sugar and put it by the mouth and it worked on a big Mount that I found within a few days.
Well said Edward Neal!!! 👍🏼
I'm also a retired pest control professional. I spayed my yard with my rig with a termite killer, can't think of the name but it's active ingredient was fiprenyl , I probably didn't spell it correctly. I'm using Amdro now, it's a bait with an IGR ingredient. Works great.
Dawn detergent is a good desiccant, works on almost all insects. Combined w natural plant, fruit oils should be very effective. Diatomaceous Earth also.
Thanks for the tips!
I live in South Louisiana and we have experience with fire ants. My use of pesticides is: if it has to be watered in, your dissolving the poison and allowing it to seep into the mound so when they exit or enter they are bringing it into the mound. the ones you don't water in is either something that they eat and carry to the food store, in the mound for all ants to eat, or possibly this Martin is something that sticks to their skeletons and they carry it into the mound and all the rest of the ants absorb the poison that way. It is like diatomaceous earth, when you sprinkle it around the mound it will work on the skeleton body of the ant and kill it that way, but the diatomaceous earth takes many days with no rain to work. I will be giving this Martin stuff a try for sure, and you might have better luck with the Spectracide water in stuff if you use more water on it. My go to is the yellow chunk ant poison (amdro) that you sprinkle around the mound and leave, they then carry it in thinking it is food and it kills the queen.
Termidor is a termite treatment used on houses and it also works quite well on fire ant mounds. They don’t return once this is sprayed
It has fipronil in it, anything with fipronil is death on fire ants.
I use Martin's Surrender. Works good for me. If I stay on top of treatment.
FOR treatments that are hard to See, you could mix IN a more visible powder.😊
Worked in a store that sold acephate. We used to call it "fart in a can". It is a soil fumigant and works well in eliminating a fire-ant mound. The ants will come back eventually, so it is something you need to continue doing.
Good description!
Lived on a couple acres in Central Florida for nearly 30 years, and of course had my share of fire ants. Tried the usual products and while they somewhat worked it was a constant battle so I spent some time observing the activities of Fire Ants and came up with my own process for eliminating them quickly and easily. One thing I noticed was Fire Ants only seemed to be active during daylight hours, meaning that is when they would go hunting. Normally putting a circle of Amdro ant bait around a mound would be ineffective since the ants would mostly ignore the bait and go for better food. So I decided to make it dark by covering the mound and bait with a #27 washtub since it was the biggest thing I had available. The theory (which proved true) was the ants wouldn't want to venture out in the dark until they were very hungry. And not liking the dark they would grab the first thing they encountered which was the poison bait retreat back underground. It worked, sprinkle the mound area with Amdro, cover with the tub and in 2-3 days the entire mound was dead. Remove the tub and there would be no bait left on the ground, plus the added benefit was didn't have to worry about dogs, birds, or other animals going for the bait, not to mention the kids running around the yard nor the frequent rain showers washing away the bait into the nearest body of water. When I started this method I had about a hundred fire ant mounds on the property, when it worked for the first mound I went full on with getting rid of the ants. Small mounds were covered with 5 gallon buckets (not white), I also had a number of those black plastic mixing tubs so they were put to use. After that I would go for years without a fire ant mound on the property, longer after all my neighbors started using the same method. Let me just add that I hate using any kind of poison so I wanted to keep it at a minimum.
Interesting!
Would scraps of black tarp, or rubber roofing work? How about metal roofing or plywood? Do you need the airspace for cooling?
@@kkarllwt When mounds are disturbed the ants may simply move. The thing about using a tub or bucket is it covers the edges and the ants don't sense the outside light.
@@msomething3579 So 1 by 8, 10, or 12 frames covered in an light tight material. Maybe 3 different sizes so they will stack for storage. Sounds like an easy scrap build.
Really doesn't take much of the granules. If you put down more than a 1/2 tablespoon, you wasting product. The first ant to reach the queen is going to kill the queen and the nest will disappear. A couple of hours without rain, without a tub works just as well and doesn't deprive the grass around of sunlight. Amdro, the best fire ant bait, and killer around. At least from my experience with the little demons.
Great information. Thank you! I’ve always used Amdro, my coworker got some Surrender, they both work well. I still prefer Amdro because Surrender does have a very strong chemical smell and stinks up the whole barn. Have a great one. 🐜 👍👌✌️
Thanks for watching!
Bengal and Extinguish have worked very well on my farm
Dawn detergent is a good desiccant, works on almost all insects. Combined w natural plant, fruit oils should be very effective.
I've done pest control for over a decade. Always use a bait if you actually want to get rid of the mound. Use products like Advion fire ant bait, Advance 375A or Amdro fire ant bait. Pesticides will only kill the fire ants on the surface. The rest of the colony will leave through an emergency exit that every mound has. As a previous person said, Always read the label and use it as it states.
Ambro bait broadcast once in the Spring and in mid-Summer gives almost complete control. It works well for me in upstate South Carolina. Warmer climates might need a Fall application. In my experience bait works much better than mound chasing in the long run and is much easier.
Wasting money. All you need to do is get one of the hand held plastic container of Amdro granules and sprinkle a 1/2 tablespoon around the mound.
@@edwardsmith5650 Mound chasing? I would rather prevent the mound. One of those plastic containers lasts me at least two years and I never see mounds. I don't broadcast the bait in areas they don't inhabit such as deep shade. My neighbor's yard and the cow pasture in front of me are full of mounds.
I use Surrender. It is the best stuff out there, but the mounds do move. You have to re-apply sometimes. I find if you spread it well outside of the perimeter of the mound, you get better results.
Greetings from Tennessee. One thing I discovered is the Ortho I use doesn't seem to work as well on Windy days. What I do is put a spoonful of sugar in a spray bottle full of water, lightly mist the mound, apply the product, and then cover it with a 5-gallon bucket. Don't know if that keeps the active chemical from blowing away in the wind or if it's just dumb luck but it seemed to improve the results greatly.
I use Bifen in a sprayer. Works great.
I've always had really good luck with orthene. It just takes the lightest little dusting on each mound and they disappear like magic.
Load up a portable generator and 5 gallon industrial floor vacuum. I had a Craftsman brand. I don't know why they can't crawl up the inside walls of it, but they can't. The dirt of the mound will flatten out with the suction and takes up minimal space in the bottom of the vacuum. The dirt acts like shrapnel killing quite a few. I dig up a little more of the mound with a trench shovel to get to the queen and egg chambers. Not only is it fun, but it leaves no doubt that the ants didn't migrate to make another mound. It's also interesting to see so many thousands of ants in a condensed place unable to escape.
🤣vacuum them????🤣
@@TheAAnne123 I know how weird it sounds. I had tried various pesticides and found them useless. As much as I like gas and fire, I knew that was just a bad idea. Not knowing what to expect, I had a can of bug spray ready when I opened the vacuum. I thought it would be seething with ants crawling up the side trying to escape. They were seething, but they weren't getting out. The one thing I absolutely knew was that the experiment wasn't going to make matters worse.
Been attacked a few times (not from Florida) and i do not heal well from the bites
I learned that toothpaste is good to neutralize their poison
Any healing hints are welcome
They say to pee on jellyfish stings!!
Put some coconut oil on a bit, preferably organic, virgin, unrefined (in case you want to use it to cook with, it makes a terrific cooking oil), and give it a few minutes, and it'll stop burning. It's good for mosquito bites too!
immediately rub the bite vigorously with moist soil and let it dry.
Immediately apply a roll on deodorant with antiperspirant (aluminum hydroxide) to the bite or bites. Immediately relieves the sting and minimizes the pustule formation.
They used to sell something called After Bite. Its listed main ingredient was ammonia. So I just rub on some ammonia. It may just be in my head, but it seems to work !!
I have been using something similar, I have found disturbing the mound at the time of application. I take a stick and make a hole in the center of mound. This causes them to track the poison throughout the mound.
It also helps Martin's Surrender if you stir the mound just before you put it on.
Get a small bottle of termidor. Mix as per instructions. It’s expensive. But a small bottle will yield enough to treat probably 300 mounds.
Your way is far more effective but mine is more fun. I needed a propane torch to kill grass but it has other uses as well. I found a fire ant mound that needed agitating with a stick then a quick BBQ. I bet this thing will work well on ground yellow jacket nests. Lay it to the side with the heat crossing the entrance. Foam fill is good for ground nests also. Why just do it if you can enjoy it?
Brake clean and a Bic lighter works well. A Co2 fire extinguisher works too.
Grits applied around the mound after the dew has burned off. Safe and effective in south FL. Another method employed is to take a scoop of ants from one mound and drop it on another and vice versa - let the little buggers go to war and whittle down their numbers.
I try to avoid using chemicals whenever I can, so I prefer to use Orange Oil mixed with water. I use 2 ounces of oil per quart of water in an old dish washing liquid container and just direct the flow of water through the nozzle right into the openings in the mound. The acidity in the oil melts the ants' exoskeleton and kills them stone dead. Since this is a contact killing solution, you do need to pour the whole quart (or more if it's a big hill) into the mound to get to the queen.
Take care and God Bless.
Which orange oil brand do you use
That is an interesting approach! I have never tried that but I will have to give it a go.
@@PineyGroveHomestead I also use orange oil mixed in water. I add just a squirt of dish soap as a surfactant. It really does kill them (not just relocate them).
@@rolandolugo5135 I'm not the original poster but I use orange oil too. I buy mine from the online store with the rainforest name. I buy Bluewater Chemgroup 100% cold pressed orange oil. It really works.
Orange oil kills earthworms.
Martins permethrin works wonders too. I buy the 10% kind and mix it at a 1 oz to 1 gallon ration in a 5 gallon bucket. Pour it around the bed first working your way to the top of the mound. At the top of the mound I lift and pour high enough that the flow breaks through the top and goes into the tunnels. Come back 10 mins later and they will all be dead, not waiting no fuss and best of all it's not harmful to pets or you. Also the smell isn't that bad if you get the one for cattle insect treatment that doesn't say "petroleum distillates on it".
I spray Bud Light and place a hand full of sand on each mound. The ants get drunk and get into rock fights killing each other off.
I drink the beer and piss on them, not sure it kills them but they get pissed off when pissed on. Did see pissing on them kills them in a video, but being drunk I prefer not falling on them.
Now if you would have sprayed Wild Turkey, I would have believed this story.😂
@@thetruth7046 If it was Wild Turkey it would be used same as beer. May be a combination solution.
That's how I get rid of crabs
@@jamesdilts277 So, it also works for venereal diseases also? (sarcasm)
a full property broacast of LESCO cross check will provide blanket coverage, you will only find them outside your property line , apply it 2x per year. otherwise you jsut chase them around one mound at a timel
A good neighbor to have, When you've finished the Florida pest come on to Texas, I'll have plenty for ya ..
I perform fire ant control in Florida. Advion fire ant bait works best for us. Spread it from an atv. Not heavy and not focused on mounds.
Let the ants do what they do- footage for food. The food will be gathered by the foragers and brought to the colony handlers. The ants have 2 stomachs. They regurgitate one to the colony delivering the poison. Do it twice about a week apart.
There is nothing that will keep them away, though. They eventually return, so a perimeter watch is key.
Boiling water is 100% non toxic and immediately effective
I used that when I 1st moved here it was a lot of fun … I just spray Home Defense now… all those powder and granules keep the. Away only for periods of time…those ants are here to stay so just live with them
That is a good method that I have also used. I hate using the toxic chemicals.
Yeah? Lets see you carry boiling water all around a 20 acre pasture!!
@@Irene-ke6toif I owned a farm I would rig up a steamer on wheels that would shoot hot water or steam from a nozzle. A pot of hot water worked fine on the three hills in my back yard.
People are idiots. Boiling water works like a charm. If you are a farmer and sit there and watch your field get infested, well, that would be you, wouldn't it.
I've been using surrender for several years and it works! Advice is not to use it on mounds next to your house due to the smell! I am in the south (Mississippi)
Surrender is a great product. It works well for repelling wasps. I use it mixed with water and spray it all the areas around my house where I've seen wasp. I usually don't see them anymore afterwards for a full year. I also use demon at the same time and those together work well to repell most Insects.
I've been using Ortho Orthene for years. Same results. Works great.
How about tolerance issues? You say you used Spec previously. Did it work then? A problem I've seen with insects is they develop a tolerance for commercial treatments.
Good point....I know that happens with plants.
I use something here in Virginia that kills fire ants it's called Talstar. There was a hill in a neighbors yard and I sprayed the top of the nest and about 3 feet around it. The next day that one was dead but there was a new one about 5 feet away. I did the same to it and no more showed up.
I use Amdro. Need to get the Queen. Amdro is put around the mound without disturbing them. When forage will find & carry back to Queen to feed her.
Surrender looks pretty good. I use a garden water can, pour a couple tablespoons malathion and fill the watering can with water and pour the solution on the mound, a good kill most every time. Give it a try, I think you'll be convinced.
Interesting! I'll have to try that!
I've had lots of success with Over and Out, but I'm going to have to try the Martins.
When I lived in Oklahoma I used a two liter bottle of Coca-Cola turned over in each fire ant hill. Based on your splash screen, your fire ants are quite a bit larger, and would each need a 55 gallon drum.
I’ve had good results with Orthene by ortho. Economical and works fast. Your product looks very similar. Orthene really smells also!
I use liquid bayer termite and carpenter ant mix in a sprayer mixed with water. It destroys fire ant mounds completely. I soak the mound then move to the next, etc.
Lived in Florida all my life. I don’t like mosquitos, and love bugs, but I really hate fire ants. I used to battle fire ants. I found something called Orothene by ortho, that stuff works. Smells a little sulfur or rotten egg like and is white powder like, but I haven’t had a fire ant mound in my yard for probably 10 years now.
Bengal brand dust works fantastic and is inexpensive. You need very little. Stir the nest and sprinkle just a small amount. The ants will take the pois
on to their queen and in a couple of hours the nest is dead.
Check your label..... acephate is the same active ingredient as Orthene. In my opinion it works best when there is is adequate rainfall and moist top soil. Queen and brood are much deeper during periods of dry weather.
I have so many ant hills. Thanks for this.
It works really well.
Had 6 acres in AL, used self raising corn meal, about once a week I put about 2 tbs on the mound and what didn’t die left because it would kill so many after 2 - 3 weeks they all moved to neighbors pasture and it was none toxic
Interesting
Now you have a mad neighbor 😅
@ he just had pasture that all he did was mow it, we had kids and animals, you could tell where the property line was, my side no mounds, his side was covered
Pyrethrin Concentrate, there are organic & non-organic versions, be aware of what you buy.
Just mix with water as directed soak mounds thoroughly, works like a charm
I use that mound destroyer by the directions, and it works great. Got them out my yard and pasture
They are still gone for us too.
I am in Alabama and I have had a lot of problems with fire ants until this past summer when I declared war on them. I bought about 5 different pesticides mixed them all together and added dish soap, I raked back every hill and poured it in the center and within seconds they started coming to the surface frantically piling on top of each other and a few hours latter it was just a pile of dead ants and I haven't seen any since! next summer I am sure there will be more but at least I have a plan that seems to work!
Sounds like a good plan!
Put enough cheap dish detergent into your water, mixed together and you'll have dead ants within the day. You wasted your money on the pesticides. I've been using CHEAP dish detergent and water, for YEARS. Kills them dead within a day, depending if you use enough dish detergent in your water! Of course they'll keep coming, but nothing can really stop them. I just spend my summer with my 5 gallon of bucket of cheap dish detergent and water, on my rolling cart, and pull it to each hill, pour the water over them, and around them, till the hill is knocked down good, and move on to the next one. It's a Wack-a-Mole situation! I can make a bet that you'll still get those hills, no matter what you use.
I live here in SOFLO, I use AMDRO, works just great...!!!
I've had good results using Grits to get rid of ants. It's cheap & works fairly well.
Bait - extinguish i think it's called, i sprinkle it around the yard every month or so and first it got rid of them then it keeps them at bay. We seem to live in an area that's heavily infested with fire ants compared to other areas of town. If you use bait, don't spray, they need to bring the food back to the queen. Haven't had any ants in the house for long time now.
Thanks! A few questions please.
1. Why would there be no eggs? All I can think of is, the ants carried the eggs away, which means they did migrate someplace else. Is there another explanation you can think of?
2. If this is a pasture, then you are grazing animals there, right? What's to stop your animals from being exposed to, or ingesting the Martin Surrender?
3. What does the Martin Surrender label say about grazing livestock in the areas where the MS is applied?
Thanks for your video and for your response.
I don't know about the eggs as I didn't dig that deep into the mound. It's hard to see shriveled up dead ants with the camera but they are there. I wouldn't recommend using this chemical on a large scale basis for an area that is going to be grazed extensively because it can be systemic in the grass in that area. So treating a few mounds is not going to transfer any measurable amount of chemicals to any grazing animals.
I use 7.9% Bifen that I learned about from Texas Prepper. 1 ounce per gallon. Spray around the mound about 3 times and then spray a straight stream into the mound for about 20 seconds and the mound will die in a couple of days. Hasn’t failed me yet in about 2 years of doing this.
I'll tell you what I use that works great! 'Spectracide Bug Stop Home Barrier'. For indoor/outdoor use. Comes in a gallon jug with built in sprayer at Lowes or Home Depot, etc.. It's the stuff you normally use for roaches. It's odorless and one spray lasts a year. You don't need to soak the ant beds with spray nor water it in. Just spray a little all over the top of an ant mound and the entire bed will die -- and they don't come back. I always spray around the edge of the mounds also.
One gallon is less than $8 at Lowes Home supply and will do hundreds of ant mounds.
Every time I find something that works good on the ants they take it off the market sadly
I'll see how well your advice works and if it works good I'll keep it and spread the news on
I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Thanks for the link I'll sure be getting it. Having a grandson that doesn't move fast enough when bitten this sure would be great if it works that well. I'm also in Florida in Jacksonville so I should get the same treatment you did
I recommend Cyonara and a sprayer. Expensive but definitely effective.
A big thing is you treat the visible mounds very early. I now treat basically in the late winter. I tried pretty much anything sold at hardware stores or Walmart. I too marked the mounds with little flags. Mainly so I could drive around in a side by side and throw a flag near each mound. I would come back with insecticide and walk from mound to mound and not miss mounds. The best thing I found was Orthene. I recommend wearing nitrile gloves and avoid windy days. Orthene kills every mound basically overnight. It seems to work better if you don't disturb the mound. Fire ants don't build mounds in only fields. All through the woods there will be mounds. Usually in the decayed part dead tree that is nearly gone.
Good points!
Bifen xts. Treat the whole property. Today you have fire ants. Tomorrow you don't. Will last close to a year. I put 12 oz in a 30 gallon sprayer. 10 seconds after you spray a hill they're biting their own butt's dying. Works amazing!
If you have ZERO regard for birds and pets….yea, do that!
It kills everything in your yard. There are beneficial insects in your yard. You're killing every insect.
I also use Bifen... A couple of ounces in a 2 gallon sprayer.. works great..
@@debbiedobbs5800 if the pets are dumb enough to eat a fire ant hill
Fire Ant Killer Ortho "Orthene" has worked for us!
I will try the Martins. Having operated heavy equipment for fifty years I can tell you that fire ant mounds are Networked. They're connected down at the level where the topsoil/loam type dirt stops and clay begins. I don't know if we can ever win the battle?
Probably can't stop them, just slow the spread.
@ I used to have a good stand of garlic and the ants honed in on it. No matter what I did they came back until they finally killed every single plant. I’m wondering since there’s things they’re attracted to possibly there are plants that would repel them?
Years ago i was using a treatment made by spectricide that hooked to a waterhose. You sprayed on the mound for about 45 seconds. When there was a little foam on the ground you could stop. Killed them every time. Now i cant find it.
You can't find it because it WORKS!! Government doesn't like us to have things that work!
I have cross check in my chemical stash anyway, so I keep 2 2.5 gal containers on my truck from May til September, anytime I see a mound starting on my properties I drench it, it usually collapses the mound during this process so it virtually disappears. 100% kill every time.
I heard spraying starting fluid (ether) in the hole. Being heavier than air it sinks to the bottom where the egg and large are and kills the queen.
When I learned about "Ant Wars" I tried it. Works like magic! MOST of the ant hills were wiped out and the winners were finished off with a natural ant kill from Gardens Alive. When I bought my place 30 years ago we couldn't walk in the yard without being attacked by fire ants. After using ant wars and the Gardens Alive liquid ant killer, I didn't see another ant for 10 years! They finally started moving back in from surrounding areas and it was really easy to wipe them out again. Sadly, Gardens Alive no longer sells the liquid ant killer, but they do have the granules by the same name. I bought them to try and have my fingers crossed that it works.
I'm using Amdros fire ant bait, works great, follow instructions 😮
5 gallon bucket full of warm/hot water. Add one cup of dawn dishwashing liquid and 1-2 tablespoons peppermint oil. Mix carefully now to suds up the soap. Dump the bucket over the mound. Kills everything. Used it for 10 years.
I have used boiling hot soapy water for many years and find that it works very well. There are no new nests that show up at least for the rest of the year.
My fire ant's became tolerant of Amdro here in Central Texas. I'm going to give Martin's or Orthene a try.
I've wiped out multiple fire-ant nests with simple corn meal. No environmental concerns, cheap, & you can keep it in your cupboards for years at a time.
I've been using Ortho orthene for years, it's a white powder also. It works great. 🤔
I've used the surrender for many years and swear by it. I always poke a few holes when I apply the power. I never use water
Surrender works great!
I just ordered some from amazon.