I guess each of us experienced this problem. How do you get rid of anthills by yourself? Do you always hire a pest control company to do the job for you? I just had this problem and I paid a company to deal with the problem.
#2
Hand2ThePlow
Since I'm not a card carrying member of the Green movement, I usually buy the poison bait that the ants take back to the colony. If the hill is large and you're in a hurry to get rid of them, cut to the chase with a spray like Ortho Max Defense.
#3
BKBrown
look up -- Diatomaceous Earth -- I use dogpile instead of google http://www.dogpile.com/ :thumbsup:
#4
mystreba
The only thing I would suggest is to make sure you are dealing with ants before taking any steps to exterminate. Certain types of Solitary Bees are prodigious builders of dirt mounds that look just like anthills. These bees, if left alone, will often nest in the same area year after year, and pollinate your early-flowering fruit trees and shrubs (apples, pears, currants and gooseberries) and other garden plants. I have hundreds of these mounds in my side yard, and find that the bees are harmless - I can walk right through unscathed.
What kind of ants are they? We have a lot of the tiny black ants that my boys love to bring into the house. I of course hate them because they are bugs and I don't like any kind of bugs. Any way I use Ortho Home Denfense which isn't green but I wish it was. I can't put granules down because of my pets and kids and I can't but those little ant traps down because my youngest son chews on them! Has anyone tried pyrethrum? I've seen that guy on Billy the Exterminator use it and it seems to work pretty well.
Thanks for the suggestions. The ants that lived on my backyard were big red ants. They were really nasty and they tried to fight when I was trying to remove them on my own. That is why I hired a company to remove them for me. I will try the coffee and the vinegar next time I have them on my yard. If that doesn't work then the Ortho Max should do the job.
If you have a persistent big red ant hill...
Years ago I discovered this.
I did not want to use any poisons because of the locations...
Using a self igniting propane torch, place the nozzle just above the main entrance, squeeze the trigger just enough to open valve and get the gas flowing, hold gas flowing around 5 seconds... squeeze trigger to ignite.
The ground for several feet around will give a little bounce as throughout the tunnel system the gas air mixture lights up... It will shut down the entire colony.
Be careful if you are around dry grass as it is possible to have flame flash up and light it. KennyV
Does anyone have any suggestions if you are dealing with two types of ants? We have red and black ants in the back and get to try and treat this issue again this summer. :frown:
Ant hills are your problem? Here's your solution, take a garden hose and put it down the top of the ant hill. Then turn it on and drown those suckers. :thumbsup:
I guess each of us experienced this problem. How do you get rid of anthills by yourself? Do you always hire a pest control company to do the job for you? I just had this problem and I paid a company to deal with the problem.
Cool yet dangerous. The kids should not be near the mound if ever we are going to try Kenny's method. The kids shouldn't even see it because they might try it themselves.
About the type of ants, I think it doesn't matter what type the ants are because the poison (or the gas explosion :biggrin will work on them.
I would not think of hiring a company to do that; perhaps buy some pesticide then first deal with getting rid of the ants.
You can try a granular ant killer, or better still, mix sugar with Borax laundry detergent. The latter has boric acid which would kill the ants.
#14
adan
I have no problem at all with black ants. But red ants of any size bother me. The only thing we did was mess up their trail every morning and afternoon consistently for around five days. They later found a new trail farther away from us. But the mound is still there. I thought that for as long as they don't bother us, we won't bother them.
We had a huge problem with ants this summer and we had good luck with dish soap and putting in in our doe jams to prevent them from coming in the house. I hate ants, they make a house look so dirty.
The problem with ants is that they make a trail regardless of anyone else around them :biggrin: There is a certain species of black ants that make a hissing sound while in motion and also sting carelessly.
We had an issue with them a few years ago, but not that much the last couple of years,. We do use a pest service, however, and that keeps us in shape pretty much.
#18
grnspot110
Pour some boiling water into the hill! It's worked for me. ~~ grnspot110
