Fire Ant in Potted Plants and Raised Beds

The question I asked the county agent: How do you get rid of fireants in pots of food plants on the patio or in raised beds.

First of all, the county agent said not to put bait on the ant bed, even if it is on the ground. He said all you did was warn the ants to get the queen and run with her to form a new bed.

Throw a handful of potato chips (yes, that is what he said) around the nest before you poison. Do not put potato chips in the pot or raised bed. This is to determine if the ants are feeding. It should take twenty minutes to see if they are feeding because they will come to the potato chips. If the fire ants do not come, do not poison right then. Sometimes, they are not out foraging, just inside tending to babies and the queen.

Once you see the ants are feeding, then is the time to bait (kill) them. Do not put chips in pots with fire ant beds or in raised beds with fire ant beds. Do not put potato chips or bait in pots or raised beds.

Potato chips are not the bait to which he refers. More on that later.

There are two good baits, and it will say bait on anything you use to kill the babies and all the fire ants.

When you put the bait (poison) out, do not put it on the bed! Put it about two feet around the bed where you put the potato chips. Remember, chips or bait on the bed is the signal to grab the queen and find a new home. Pick up the chips before you put out the bait.

The best two baits to use:

*Extinguish Plus
*Come and Get It (expensive)

Neither can be found in Lowe's or Home Depot. You might have to go to a Farm Store type place. He did emphasize that whatever you get must have "bait" on the bag. This is the type that the ants carry back to the nest to eliminate all fire ants.

I have been worried about the pots in the back yard and wondering what to do if I get fire ants in them. Plus, First Man had fire ants in his raised beds.

Of course, this works on the lawn or in a garden.

Any questions? I can ask him. Have you ever used either of these or a "bait?" What do you use?

Fire Ant Attack

While I was viewing the big yellow and red chicken, I came across this mound. My foot was one inch from it. It is a fire ant mound.

Having lived in the South all my life and having been nearly covered with and bitten by fire ants, I never stop and stand unless I look down. That day, I was so engrossed with the junk/antiques behind the fence that I forgot to be on guard.

When I was ten-years-old, I, along with my nine-year-old brother, and seven-year-old sister went to the woods to pick plums so Mama could make jam. As I stood and picked plums, I felt nothing. Then, all of a sudden I was being bitten from my panties to my foot on one leg and from my knee down on the other leg. I ran screaming, tossing my bucket of plums, trying to get home. I jumped from the bank into a ditch, stepping onto something that cut a gash in my bare foot.

As I ran screaming along the asphalt road, headed for Mama, my younger and much smaller brother chased me down, grabbed me and hung onto me until he had me on the pavement, and then took his bare hands and scraped them off me. When he had them all off and had been stung himself, we both ran home. Of course, I was still screaming and crying. My little sister followed, horrified by the whole ordeal.

How did fire ants cover my whole leg and to the thigh on the other leg without me knowing it? Fire ants cover a person or animal and a signal is given so they all bite at once, holding on and stinging over and over.

If you hear me say I fear ants, this is why. My mother was horrified. We all knew the dangers and had gotten an ant or two on us over the years. I was very ill for several days and in misery. For the next five or six years, my little toe on one foot became inflamed. I had had many bites on that toe during the fire ant attack.

When I was about fifteen, Daddy told me to wash the dishes because I would not mind Mama. There were ants all over them. Daddy was threatening to get the belt if I did not wash the dishes. I don't know whether he would have or not. I was crying too hard to care if he beat me to death. I would never have gone near the sink or kitchen.  My brother who saved me from more fire ant bites and who had never washed a dish in his life, went to the sink and rinsed all the ants off and killed them on the counters. He spent an hour rinsing and looking for ants and stopped them where they came into the kitchen. All this time, Daddy was muttering, Mama was trying to calm him, and I was just crying. When all ants were gone, THEN, I washed the dishes. By the way, no one ever suggested I wash the dishes if ants were present.

People have received fair warning that if fire ants ever go up my clothing at a picnic or wherever, I come out of my clothing! Right then! Now!

 I took a rock and broke off the top of the mound. Usually, a small stick will break up the mound. This mound had been rained on, so it was too hard for the stick I found.

Above, the ants are running, not many, but I wanted to get away before they found me. Yes, they would have found me.

When I was in grad school, I was talking to a professor as we walked together and parted ways. She commented on the "cute little mounds or dirt," wondering what they were. I told her--fire ants, dangerous, will kill small animals and small children. She was from the North and gave me that look that we reserve for the ignorant, the pathetic ones who believe in "haints." (ghosts)

As I kept reassuring her and my words of caution grew stronger, she caught on--I was teasing her. She thought!

Finally, I told her to stand on one of the mounds if she wanted to be sure. I assured her I would not help get the ants off her because they really frightened me.

She said she was going to ask someone else. How arrogant! If you visit the South and believe we are ignorant, beware. Fire Ants are no myth. You may have no faith in god, but you had best believe what fire ants can do. Whew, sounds like a tent meeting could be starting. But, there could be fire ants in the area. I am out!

I know you all believe me, but the "Brazilian" Fire Ant is discussed here. Right now, I just imagine they are on my feet. Yikes. They are in my yard. I just hope they never get my hens. Oh, bird populations decline when imported fire ants are abundant. Plus, they can kill plants, including young trees. And, they can nest in homes.

A local, prominent attorney was found dead beside his tractor. An autopsy revealed nothing. Finally, someone remembered a rash on his ankle. Further testing revealed that he had a dozen fire ant stings. He was obviously highly allergic to the sting. His whole family was tested. It turns out they are allergic to stings from fire ants, bees, and wasps. Now, his grandchildren have epipens or something injectable  in the school. Instructions are to use the pen first, call an ambulance, and then call the parents who will go to the hospital.

I never, ever stop walking or sit without examining where my feet are placed. Or my behind.
Your turn
Have you ever been bitten by fire ants?  What is your experience with them? Are you a believer or skeptic? LOL