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Old 08-13-2017, 06:16 PM
 
17 posts, read 14,212 times
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Hi All,

I am possibly relocating to the Warrenton area, I want to bring my horse, but I am really concerned about the fire ants on the property! What can be done to keep my beloved horse happy and safe from these horrid pests?
Ideally I'd like to have him in a big pasture, but the any mounds are huge and there are MANY of them?

What do you all do?

Thanks in advance..
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Old 08-13-2017, 07:29 PM
 
Location: Austin
7,244 posts, read 21,746,679 times
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All you really can do is consistently treat the entire area with ant killer so they'll want to leave. They never really go away, just further down into the ground. If someone had actually figured out how to get rid of them, they would no longer be in existence!
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Old 08-13-2017, 08:17 PM
 
19 posts, read 15,837 times
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Armadillos eat fire ant grubs, so encourage them, don't harass them. For small areas, beneficial nematodes work. They are live microscopic creatures that also attack fire ant grubs. It is very time consuming to apply them and the area needs to be kept well watered,
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Old 08-13-2017, 08:52 PM
 
7,742 posts, read 15,081,182 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconheadWest View Post
All you really can do is consistently treat the entire area with ant killer so they'll want to leave. They never really go away, just further down into the ground. If someone had actually figured out how to get rid of them, they would no longer be in existence!
they feed amdro to the queen so im pretty sure the mounds are dead.

You can buy amdro in bulk and put it in a spreader and get your whole yard. The mounds will be dead within a few days.

Alternately you can sprinkle it on each mound.
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Old 08-13-2017, 09:54 PM
 
Location: somewhere in Texas
535 posts, read 1,290,089 times
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What FalconheadWest said. They have a whole tunnel system under the ground. Even if you think you've killed them, you're wrong. They just moved their mound somewhere else within their system.
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Old 08-14-2017, 06:59 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,282,436 times
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If you are concerned about your horses and pesticides, here's what TAMU (who will be your friend for solid information from people who know their horses inside and out once you move here) has to say about Amdro. It's probably your best best. I've had good luck with boiling water poured through a tube INTO the mound (thus getting the queen), but it sounds like you've already got a thoroughly established system going on and I've always been able to get it when the first or second mound appears.
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Old 08-14-2017, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Austin
7,244 posts, read 21,746,679 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Austin97 View Post
they feed amdro to the queen so im pretty sure the mounds are dead.

You can buy amdro in bulk and put it in a spreader and get your whole yard. The mounds will be dead within a few days.

Alternately you can sprinkle it on each mound.
If it were that easy, we wouldn't have a fire ant issue, nor would they pop up each and every year.

There are many years when they move just to the other side of my property line, and then come on back during the next big rain. They move around, never gone.
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Old 08-14-2017, 11:09 AM
 
7,742 posts, read 15,081,182 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconheadWest View Post
If it were that easy, we wouldn't have a fire ant issue, nor would they pop up each and every year.

There are many years when they move just to the other side of my property line, and then come on back during the next big rain. They move around, never gone.
There are ants coming in from other properties that arent treated. The mound that you kill is dead, the queen is dead. Why would the ants move? The amdro is poison that gets fed to the queen.

If you clear your yard, ants from other yards will move in.
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Old 08-14-2017, 11:10 AM
 
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Ill add that inside the house I have successfully used terro liquid (sugar + borax) on crazy ants.

They swarm then thin to nothing (their mound died). Then another swarm will come in, then they die. Over time the swarms get less and less.

Even while they are swarming though the terro works because it keeps then located to one tiny area of the kitchen instead of being everywhere.
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Old 08-14-2017, 03:35 PM
 
712 posts, read 836,312 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brendaleeoc1 View Post
Hi All,

I am possibly relocating to the Warrenton area, I want to bring my horse, but I am really concerned about the fire ants on the property! What can be done to keep my beloved horse happy and safe from these horrid pests?
Ideally I'd like to have him in a big pasture, but the any mounds are huge and there are MANY of them?

What do you all do?

Thanks in advance..

put out dry molasses; it really works, and is beneficial in every way.
(google 'dry molasses and fire ants' )

great for a yard too (if you have kiddos)
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