Of the many species of ants, Fire ants are the most dangerous one. They not only destroy your local habitation but are equally dangerous to humans as they can bite you and your pets also.
They are red in color and found in most parts of the earth. To get rid of fire ants is essential since they can wreck not only outdoors but inside your house also. You can destroy these ants by following toxic as well as natural methods.
Contents
Natural Methods
These methods are safe for your health and if you have patience then there is no match to natural means to kill them.
Hot Water
Fire ants nests can be easily located from the mounds they have built. One of the simplest and environment friendly way to kill them is to pour hot water over their mounds.
To eradicate them completely one pouring is not enough, you have to do this two to three times to kill them completely.
“Since mounds are often built in courtyards, hot water can damage grass and nearby vegetation. Keep yourself protected from hot water burnings by wearing Gum-shoes or gloves “
Bucketing in Mounds
The process of bucketing is not too difficult. You have to dig in about 2 feet deep under the mound and insert bucket showered with some baby powder so that ants are un able to pull out of bucket.
Once the bucket gets filled with fire ants you can either drop them at some farthest place from your house( a rather more humane approach) or be ruthless to them by drowning them in soap water.
Diatomaceous Earth
DE is made up of silica crystals and is a very effective dehydrator. You have a option to use it in two ways.
- Collect whole colony of ants and put it into a bag filled with DE. Shake this bag and there is no reason to be not surprised by finding fire ants killed .
- Put Diatomaceous Earth in the hole of mound but make sure they do not escape from there by applying some fencing around the mound.
Grass Choppers
A little expensive way to get rid of fire ants with the help of these cutting and chopping devices. This method of course does not make use of any chemicals. Only drawback is that it will not destroy any hidden mounds.
Vinegar and Baking soda
Create a solution at home with vinegar and baking soda. Pour it in the hole of mound ,just like hot water. Repeat this process over some days for complete eradication of fire ants.
Used cooking oil
Have you just finished frying chicken in peanut oil? Well this oil can also be used to kill fire ants too. This is a tried and tested method, pour peanut oil in mound and after some time there will be no signs of them, believe me.
Club Soda
It might sound strange but technically speaking, soda can be poured into mound to kill fire ants. Just soak them with club soda which is nothing else but CO2 and it will choke them to death.
Toxic Methods
Following methods can be employed if other natural methods have failed.
Commercial Poison
Buy any commercial poison and pour it into the ant hill. It will kill them and if you find some fire ants running away from this poisoned hill, kill them with other baits you have prepared.
Professional Exterminator
If ant infestation is at a larger scale and un controllable, it is best advised to call professional help. They will use harmful chemicals and be prepared to face some of its side effects on humans as well as environment.
Prevention
- Seal all the entry points to your house with caulks or some insecticide sprays. You can also sprinkle cinnamon powder or boric acid at these points.
- Locate any ant-hills , also called mounds, in or around courtyards and immediately cordon-off the area with some fencing. Do not allow your pets or family members to come in contact with fire ants as their sting can be very agonizing and painful.
“If bitten by fire-Ant, clean the affected area with soapy water or ammonia. To reduce the swelling and itchiness use of ice-packs is recommended”
