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 Post subject: fire ants
PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 11:33 pm 
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Location: Whitesboro,TX
I know how to get rid of fire ants with out chemicals.
If I lived in a city with a postage seize lot, it would
be easy to kill a few fire ants. I have a bigger
problem - 29 acres of fire ants. These little devils
popped up all over the farm - I mean 100's of them.
I can not physically can not carry buckets to every
fire ant mound. For those of you who don't know,
We have been organic since we bought this farm 6
years ago and I have restored the soil with sea
water (for trace minerals), liquid humic acid (to
detoxify), and molasses (for trace minerals, nitrogen,
and food for the beneficial bacteria). Any one have
an idea how to do 29 acres of fire ants in mass
instead of one mound at a time?
Robert D Bard


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:32 am 
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We know they hate sugar. You might get out your spray tank and spray one gallon of molasses per acre to start and see what they do on that acre.

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 Post subject: fire ants
PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:47 am 
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Location: Whitesboro,TX
What are you doing up so late?
I have put 2 gals of molasses per ten acres - twice
this year. I don't mind putting spray rig on tractor,
but hate to do it. You know spare time and all that!

It can not be put on as 1 gal per acre - to thick.
It could be 10 gal of molasses in 100 gal of water
and then sprayed on 10 acres.

The other thought is, Will they go to woods - meaning
will I just be moving them until another day when
they come back to the pastures after a good rain?

It maybe worth a try.

Thanks

Bob


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:55 am 
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I'm usually always up until 2 a.m.

If you can dilute it, then dilute it. Spray 1 gallon in 100 gallons of water on 1 acre and see what happens. The drench effect will be better than a foliar misting action anyway.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 8:58 am 
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Location: Tyler, Texas
I know we all love A&M and thier chemicals and all..... but believe it or not they are finally doing a few Organic studies. The latest one that I saw was for Fire Ants. They found out the exact results that I have been coming up with for the past 10 years with my Organic Program. That is..... the only natural enemy that the fire ant has is the micro organism. The same types of micro organisms that We have been spraying pastures with for the past 10 years. Our customers see a drastic drop in fire ant mounds, the size of the mounds and the agressiveness of the ants in the mound. There findings said that the micro organisms feed off the larva reducing the number of ants born and effecting the health of the new ants born. The micro organisms also can get between the outter skeletan to the soft tissue effecting the health of the adults and Queens, shortening the life of the ants. We have a few fire ants in our Hay and Grazing Pastures but I do not remember the last time I or any of our Ranch Hands or Animals were attacked by them....... now other areas I dont spray around the ranch watch out. I have even had customers call me after a few years of not using the products that say the fire ants have come back and PLEASE come back and spray again and PLEASE dont let me get off the program again......

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 Post subject: Fire ant seige
PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 10:32 pm 
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Location: Dallas,TX
Bob -
Try adding cornmeal to the molasses mix. Soak a couple of pounds of cornmeal in a 55 gallon drum or other large container and then use the strained liquid to mix with the molasses. I have been using that combination to keep fire ants off my property for years.

Kathe


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 12:06 am 
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Then on the other hand, my wife's cousin has some land with fire ants on it and he wouldn't trade them for anything. His pest control bills have gone to zero since he started living with the fire ants instead of fighting them. He no longer has fleas, ticks, chiggers, or any of those pests he used to have to spray his animals for. The cattle learn where the fire ants are by smell and stay away by themselves. At first he had the hundreds of mounds but that settled down so you can't even find them right now. They're there, but not by the hundreds. Something is keeping them in balance without his intervention.

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 Post subject: fire ants
PostPosted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 11:48 pm 
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Location: Whitesboro,TX
Dave: You are right about fire ants and ticks, &
fleas. We lived in east TX for 18 years and had
ticks and fleas by the tons, but they all disappeared
when the fire ants arrived. How ever the well
stopped pumping when the fire ants got into the
electrical contacts.
The other observation was that we had no termites
after the fire ants showed up.
You are right that a mix might be nice but I don't
think that is possible.
I just finished an article in AcresUSA by Malcolm
Beck on fire ants. His Antie Fuego does the trick.
What I found interesting was that there is a lot
of difference between DE. I didn't realize that
calcium was a varible.
I am going to try corn meal and Auntie Fuego on
some mounds and DE on others. I think I will
leave the small ones and get rid of the bigger
mounds.
I will report back.
Robert D Bard


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 11:29 am 
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Location: Garland, Texas
Robert,

I have posted this before, but I have basically taken the same approach here on my site over the last several years. I have left a few mounds undisturbed, one in the front yard, one on the side yard where the bathrooms are and one in the backyard. I have still had incidences (well chronicled) of fleas, which I just don't understand, and even a small outbreak of termites a couple of years ago. As long as they don't bother me, I think I'll continue this course of action, or rather inaction :wink:

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:15 pm 
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Location: Southeast Dallas County/Balch Springs ,TEXAS
Greenlight is getting ready to conduct a test on some acreage out in Canton area with thier new product containing Spinocad. It can be broadcast up to 5lbs per acre. Its a special order for most places, I deliver it myself. It is labled for use on pasture, playgrounds, etc. My chickens like it, but the ants are dying. ha ha.


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