C Pilgrim

elle sagenev wrote:I'm with you on this issue. We started with one hill and they are spreading like wildfire. We left them alone but now they are coming into the kid yard and they are really quite aggressive. I will not lie, we've poisoned. They laughed. They laugh at all of our attempts to stop them.

I keep trying to remember but I think someone on permies once suggested starting a massive fire on top of them and then putting a barrel over it to both control the fire and super heat the ground, killing the ants.

I think we'll be trying this next.

Pic of our ant hill the day after being poisoned. You can't see them great but there are zillions of ants just laughing at us as husband digs around trying to see if they died.

I know that feeling of my efforts being futile. I expected after feeding them a whole box of borax that something would change. They enjoyed the sugar and kept on as if nothing was different.

Please let me know how the bonfire goes.

AngelinaGianna Maffeo wrote:I'd put a 6" to 12"wide circle of DE around the whole hill, then seriously dust the hill with DE. You could then pour DE down the center or pour a few buckets of soapy water down it. The runners would have to go through the DE circle... then they're toast.

Sounds like a possible temporary solution - meaning the ants won't travel outside the line without being killed. But from what I can tell, it won't kill the queen so as soon as it rains, it would have to be applied again. Am I missing something?

jordan barton wrote:So, i find myself asking, What is the issue with the ants? are they eating your garden? are they eating your fruit trees?

I myself have been living with an issue which bugs me daily. It is bull frogs. they eat the local tree frogs and the snakes. The bull frogs are invasive and can cause issues with the tree frog populations. That being said. The amount of effort required to remove them is outstanding!! so, naturally nature has dealt with the abundance all on its own. Now otters come into the pond and eat their fill of bulls frogs!!! Overnight the pond becomes whisper quiet :) I imagine the otter gains a lot of reward from coming to the pond because there is this huge glut of food waiting for them to come and eat it!

So i find myself being fearful of the otters being killed by some of our community members :(

Anywoo.

I am trying to say maybe this is a non issue, one which requires none of your attention(other than the beautiful observation of this wonderful life), and it will be dealt with on its own. I imagine the ants are super helpful in a way which is not seen:)

I am aware the ants have their role in balancing the ecosystem, which is why for many years we've left it alone. But we can no longer use a large part of our property for recreation. For example, we once had a fire pit nearby which the family enjoyed and also played volleyball in the area. Not any more. We can't sit anywhere within 100 feet of these hills now and it adds up to acres.

Otters sound nice. We had beavers who started to chew down a whole forest. One morning I couldn't get to work because a beaver had felled a large tree right across my driveway. Living in harmony with our wildlife is a balancing act.

Lorne Martin wrote:Looks like too much of a tinderbox in that area, but out in a lawn or short pasture I have taken about 2 cups gasoline and pour it on then let it soak about a minute.
Light it and let it burn out.

Works good for underground wasps too.

I have considered this method but the unpredictability of it has worried me. The issue for fire is more underground with roots than above. We have yearly burn piles which we can safely mange. However, I likely can get a hose (or 4) to reach so it's something to consider in spring or fall when the ground is wet.

How toxic is gasoline in the ground over time and distance? I have a river which runs 200 feet (or less) away.

I have 3 ant hills that have developed into huge mounds over the years. While I don't mind sharing my property with the critters, the ants from these hills are taking over. In case the image below doesn't show their true size, these hills are probably 3 feet high and 3 feet across.

In general we're 100% organic. After scouring the web for relatively "safe" poisons which will not have long term impacts, I settled on Borax since the wisdom was that boron would kill the queen. I used most of a box of 20 Mule Team mixed with some sugar in various ratios including trying molasses. I set out containers for the ants to feed from. I sprinkled spirals on and around the mounds. In the end, I feel like I've only given them candy. No impact whatsoever and it's a year later.

I've considered getting out the backhoe and scooping out six foot deep holes, but hoping to avoid this - as I currently don't have any other use for the backhoe and it's a lot of work to put the implement on and off. Plus there are tree roots I don't want to disturb. But even considering the backhoe as an option, I feel like I Bill Murray in Caddyshack ready to get out the dynamite.

Any help or insight would be appreciated.