Ants! OMG!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!

  • Thread starter Bluefirepegasus
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Since we sprayed and put traps out no sign of the fire ants at all! whew! That was a close one!
Bad news, any ants you found in your home would have represented but a fraction of the entire colony. Think of their brethren like Arnold, "They'll be back". When you sprayed, you probably killed off the ants in your home so the baits would have been rendered ineffective given you killed off what would have been able to take any bait back to a nest. Just a suggestion but why don't you move all the baits outside. There are generally main nests but there are also satellite nests to a colony and I suspect that once the spray looses its punch, you'll start having issues again within a few months regardless of whether you caulked or not.
 
you make a good point lorax. I'll have my husband lay some granules outside.

Bluefirepegasus
 
honestly..I have two rabbits and a dog. I wonder if the flies would nest inside their ears? A friend of mine had her rabbit die that way. The fly got in her ear and then laid eggs etc. So sad. Also....I just do not have any money at all for anything. Money is so friggin tight right now.

And you know what Lorax.....we haven't been invaded yet but I did find an ant crawling on the part of my newest orchid where the sugar was being secreted. I had agreed you were right about they would be back I just didn't think so fast. So, right now we are trying to devise a way to combat them without spending much money or better yet no money. Poo poo to paying taxes!

Bluefirepegasus
 
Real quick here- the answer to your question is no. Phorid flies, unlike flesh flies/face flies/blowfiles, are not attracted to blood. They are target specific and have no interest in anything other than the imported fire ants.

Pesticide sprays are a big money maker for the chemical industry but as you've just experienced first hand, aren't all that effective. If you continued to rely on sprays, you'd end up in a vicious cycle repeatedly buying more and your home would end up chemical laden.

Go back to the articles I posted links to and re-read them all then go back over #14 of the very first link I posted for you. Is there any way you can post a photo of the ants that are getting into your home?

Re-invasion is inevitable. It's only a matter of time regardless of what method you choose to control them but phorid flies appear to be capable of providing the greatest relief for extended periods of time because they don't knock down native colonies of ants. Unfortunately, they're not cheap so you may have to take a second look at baits and how to use them properly so as to maximize results.

Here is a link to your extension service-
http://www.aces.edu/
They have a search engine and you can plug in the words fire + ants to see what comes up to learn as much as you can learn so you will be in a good position to make the best decisions for you. If it were me, I'd call my local extension office and let them know that you understand why it's important not to kill off any native ants and just come right out and ask them what they believe will work best for you in your particular situation but please share with them how much money you are in a position to spend to manage these fire ants so they don't suggest products that won't be affordable for you.
 
Lorax, you are so smart! I don't know why I didn't think about my local extension office! :) And I will re-read. Thanks for all the links.

That's why I post things like this! Lots of brains are better than just mine alone! :rollhappy:

Bluefirepegasus
 
I find my brains alone, or lack thereof, fail me repeatedly. That's why I always try to tap into other people's brains when ever possible. It's the cost factor and sometimes one needs to find workarounds.

It's been a while. Were you able to contact your extension office and if so what did they believe to be the best plan of attack for your particular situation?
 

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