How do I get rid of ants nests? [Archive]

Vernonv

12th January 2009, 05:33 PM

I'm assured that Borax and whatever their favourite food id, does for them, but it's never worked for me!!:((:((

We have used something similar (borax and honey) and have limited success with getting rid of small brown ants. They seem to disappear in the short term (ie a month or so), but eventually come back.

Wongdai

12th January 2009, 06:22 PM

But how do they move on if they can't get past the baby powder ring? :U

lol. Maybe thats where flying ants come from!

Woodwould

12th January 2009, 06:37 PM

Ok, I'll bite, what in the blue blazes is ANFO?

ANFO was very common back home. PM me if you need any instructions. :;

BazzaDLB

12th January 2009, 11:48 PM

We have used something similar (borax and honey) and have limited success with getting rid of small brown ants. They seem to disappear in the short term (ie a month or so), but eventually come back.

Hi Vernon,

Can you advise where you have been able to source Borax.

I've looked on the shelves at the local supermarket near both the washing powders and pesticides and also asked at Bunnies without luck.

Should I go to a produce agency?

Thanks in advance

Vernonv

13th January 2009, 08:30 AM

Hi Baz,
The last lot my wife got in the cleaning section of the local Woolies. It was probably a couple of years ago now.

damian

13th January 2009, 09:55 AM

Petrol, about 5 liters wipes out any nest.

Vernonv

13th January 2009, 10:30 AM

Petrol, about 5 liters wipes out any nest.

Damian,
I'm starting to think you may be a bit of a fire bug.:U:U

damian

13th January 2009, 10:42 AM

Nope, you don't light it, you just pour it down. The ones it doesn't touch will die from the fumes.

I know you were joking BTW...:)

Big Shed

13th January 2009, 10:44 AM

Petrol, about 5 liters wipes out any nest.

Is that before or after the match?

Pouring 5 litres of petrol on the garden on a 40deg toal fire ban day does not immediately appeal:o

Most of the solutions above poison/pollute the ground to a greater or lesser degree.

I guess what I'm looking for is a "magic bullet" that wipes out the ant colony, rather than shift them somewhere else only to return at a later stage. We are on 25 acres with a 1 acre fenced off house garden. The ants nests are both in the house garden and the surrounding area.

I might try one or two of the non-polluting suggestions, rather like the idea of Johnson's Baby Powder:wink:. Does it have to be this brand or do other baby powders produce the same effect?:D

damian

13th January 2009, 11:01 AM

Apparently some baby powder is made of wheat or something rather than talk. Might want to check the ingredients on the pack.

The petrol will evaporate. It will leave a residue but it's not permanent poisoning like sump oil. It won't burn without an ignition source.

Coal mines are full of methane. The trick to not blowing them up is to keep it out of the combustable and explosive range. If you can run a coal mine full of hundreds of men and machines mostly wihtout blowing it up with some care some petrol or hexane can be deployed without burning your state to the ground, I would have thought ? Bit like filling a mower, you don't do it with a smoke hanging out your mouth do you ? :)

Wongdai

13th January 2009, 11:23 AM

petersemple

13th January 2009, 11:59 AM

I use ant powder from the local hardware store. Can't remember the brand. It sometimes takes a few applications but seems to work. Boiling water down the hole will also work, but again you will need to keep at it a bit until they are all gone.

Peter

Big Shed

13th January 2009, 12:02 PM

The petrol will evaporate. It will leave a residue but it's not permanent poisoning like sump oil. It won't burn without an ignition source.

Agree that it won't burn without an ignition source, not so sure about the long term residue though:no: Anyway filling up my mower is slightly different from pouring 5L of straight petrol in to the ground.:o

Ever driven past a service station they are closing down, just look at all the contaminated soil they cart away when they dig the petrol tanks up.

damian

13th January 2009, 01:17 PM

Your right, but it gets contaminated over time because:

1. A lot of servos also operate mechanics workshops which used to leak oil and all sorts of stuff into the soil.

2. The tanks rust through and they don't replace them right away so they leak into the soil and a buildup of the additive occurres.

After the station is decommissioned they cart away tonnes of soil so the site can be listed as clean and used for whatever's next. In the old days they just buried it onsite but regs are stricter now and they don't want a law suit down the track. It's cheaper just to be safe.

I'm a mechanic by trade. Going rate is just over minimum wage and much of the difference between what we get paid and the $60/hr plus you pay is enviromental crap. That's why myself and most others who do the trade aren't in it anymore.

Everyone loves going on about being green but it costs $ and I doubt most people realise just how expensive all the general bureaucracy and greenie stuff costs us as a society. That's why we still have to work full time, technology has made us much more productive but as fast as we improve worker productivity some smart public servant invents another rule for us to adhere to.

I don't like pollution anymore than the next person, but the way the laws are written and administered is very expensive and inefficient.

Anyway, I understand why you don't want to dump petrochemicals in your soil, it was just an option. :)

Waldo

13th January 2009, 02:17 PM

Like Damian posted, petrol. Used to pour petrol down red any nests before I used to whipper snipper my parents acerage in days gone by.

Those things move when annoyed, as do I suppose bull ants. :runaway:

STAR

13th January 2009, 04:16 PM

We use a product called Deter Insecticide that I purchase in a 1 litre container. We have 2 acres so it is cheaper to buy it this way for us.

The product has a warning on it " This product is too hazardous for use by householders. Must not be use this product in or around the house."

However, that warning is for the idiots who do not use chemicals thoughtfully as anything able to kill and poison ants does need some protective gear when handling.

The important thing is not the name of the product but the chemical ingredient, in this case;

Active constituent 500 g/l CHLORPYRIFOS.

Bunnings and other retailers sell the same active ingredient in a product I think put out by Hortico called ANT KILL. Please check the label to make sure this info is correct as I am going from memory.

I also think the strength is only 250 g/l of Chlorpyrifos, or half the strength of what i use which means that I use more water to dilute mine.

If it is not ANT KILL then a small bottle I have infront of me contains. 480 g/l Chlorpyrifos. It is put out by a company called Chemspray and is called ANT, SPIDER & COCKROACH KILLER INSECTICIDE.

It is in a 100 ml bottle and is available at Bunnings also.

Ben from Vic.

13th January 2009, 06:21 PM

I'm not sure if the brand matters mate. I've always used Johnson's and the ants disappear soon after.

I like the whole "green" solution of this approach personally. If I can enourage them to move elsewhere rather than kill them off it works better for me.

Yeah. thats right, send them bleedin' ants over the neighbours place.:D
So instead of ant genocide you'll be making lots of little ant refugees.:rolleyes:

I used Terminant, which may have come from a farm supplies place. Worked great. The shelf in the shed also had Diggers Creosote Solution (my uncle's), but I felt unsafe just reading the safety directions!! Something about covering yourself from head to toe and putting spf30+ on all exposed skin!

Ben.

rotten_66

14th January 2009, 11:05 AM

Chlorpyrifos is a good product but need to be very careful, it works well on any creature that breathes. People, dogs, cats, birds, bugs, etc
I work in a lab and we get many examples of critters that have been killed by secondary poisoning, one was three Wedge Tailed eagles that had fed on a sheep that the owner had dosed up with chlorpyrifos to kill the flies that were bothering it, the sheep died and so did the eagles from eating the dead sheep. Owner copped a $25000 fine as the eagles are a protected species!!
Neighbour sprayed fence for spiders/ termites and killed the dog next door that ate the grass growing along the fence bottom.

Follow the label and be careful of what and where you spray,

R

bsrlee

15th January 2009, 03:01 AM

Several small boys with access to various incendiaries can exterminate most ant nests.

If they are the 6-12mm long ants with the big bald mounds they are 'meat' eating ants, so are not bothered by most of the paste type ant killers which are basically sugar + insecticide. From the experience of some friends, the powder based ant killers work on them tho'.

BazzaDLB

15th January 2009, 10:23 PM

Hi Baz,
The last lot my wife got in the cleaning section of the local Woolies. It was probably a couple of years ago now.

Hi Vernon,

I finally sourced some Borax today at a smaller Bunnings at Lawnton (Nth. Bne).

Made up a spoonful of honey and half of one of Borax into a paste and put on some lids in the workshop. Checked about an hour later and the lids were covered in ants. Don't know where they all came from but hope it does the trick as otherwise I've just made my ant problem multiply ten times worse!!!

Here's hoping it works

Thanks again

Vernonv

16th January 2009, 09:38 AM

Hi Baz,
Sorry, but I didn't realise that wanted to get rid of the ants ... bugger ... once they have the taste for honey and borax, they are impossible to get rid of. They will just keep coming back for more :doh:... :U couldn't help myself.

It would normally take us about 1 to 3 days before they would all disappear and they seemed to say gone for many months. Best of luck.

Big Shed

16th January 2009, 10:07 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions.

We have previously tried the honey+borax, although it works on the small ants (for a while anyway) it doesn't do anything for the big bull ants that are creating our problem.

After asking around the consensus was that one of the ant powders/granules would do the trick.

Purchased a 500gr container of Hortico Ant Killer (contains 10g/kg Permethrin)

Yesterday applied it to 20+ entry holes in one of the bigger ants nests, and it was amazing to see the ants swarming out of the holes! By last night there were hardly any ants ants around this nest and this morning there was no activity at all.

Have so far attacked about 20 nests and have quite a few more to go, one is a real big one outside the house garden that would be about 4-5 metres in diam.

The offensive will continue once I buy some more ammunition:2tsup:

Allan at Wallan

16th January 2009, 07:51 PM

We are getting more and more big ants nests, looks like bull ants.

What have people found that will get rid of these, some are a couple of meters in diam on the surface and in the house garden.

For the first time in the 15 years we have lived in Wallan we are
getting large ants, almost bullant size, within the garden. Fortunately
I have not been bitten yet so don't know how savage they are.

I have avoided spraying so far but may have foiled them anyway
by putting a sign in the garden saying "Bendigo - that way"
with an arrow.

Allan

nine fingers

16th January 2009, 08:06 PM

We had the big buggers near the clothes line, poured half a bottle of White King down their hole,the soon disappeared ,dead or otherwise.:;
cheers John

Ashore

16th January 2009, 09:44 PM

Get yourself a pink panther :2tsup:

Lignin

16th January 2009, 10:43 PM

G Sus, 20 nests and a few more to go when you get the ammo!!
I'm very peeved because I am currently being invaded by some little black bastards that do not like sweet stuff, and religiously avoid anything appetising and lethal that I provide for them, but 20 plus nests...........:o:o
I think I'd be consulting whoever it was who offered the Nitropril and Diesel.Just beware if he has a Oirish accent and a couple of missing digits!:p:p

Lignin

16th January 2009, 10:44 PM

PS. Stupid question, but what's a pink panther??:B:B

Ashore

16th January 2009, 11:42 PM

a movie , you know the theme song
dead ant...dead ant ...dead ant dead ant dead ant :D

prozac

16th January 2009, 11:59 PM

Those big ants are heading for your lounge room!

Get an echidna.

glenn k

17th January 2009, 11:05 AM

What is the problem with these ants in the large nests?
They are usually called meat ants, they have no stingers on their tails (they can't inject formic acid like jack jumpers or bull ants) they shouldn't go into your house unless your stand on the nests they shouldn't bother you. If they do get on you brush them off they can nip but it's hardly painful.
I really wonder why you think they are such a problem. Some people use them to clean bones. Borax in finely minced meat should acidify their guts and stop them digesting food and kill them. I would be more worried about the poison than the ants.

When I was a lot younger we used to sh?? on their nests and they would clean it up in no time so maybe you could use them as a water saving devise.

Prozac echidnas arn't stupid they eat sugar ants and termites which are tasty meat ants taste like ????.

Lignin

17th January 2009, 11:16 AM

Maybe no sting(And NOT in the tail!!), but a bloody mean nip.:o:o

glenn k

17th January 2009, 11:40 AM

Maybe no sting(And NOT in the tail!!), but a bloody mean nip.:o:o

What do you mean not in the tail? I suggest you get an ant that can sting and give it a little poke on the rear end (not with your finger) and watch the sting protrude and the fomic acid (IUPAC name methanoic acid) run from the end. Or just google "formic acid ant stings". http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/formic/formich.htm
Bloody mean nip????? Maybe slight pinching of the skin.

Lignin

17th January 2009, 12:12 PM

OOps, I stand corrected!!!:)
And I'm obviously not as tough as you!!!:(:(

glenn k

17th January 2009, 01:26 PM

maybe you should try some cellulose to see if it toughens you up Ha Ha:D
thanks love a bit of fun:2tsup:

Lignin

17th January 2009, 02:58 PM

Me too.:D:D
Lignin + cellulose----> Rigidity.:2tsup:
Does Rigidity = Toughness.??:B:B

HUON

17th January 2009, 11:13 PM

What's wrong with ants you sookie la la, send out an invitation to some ant eaters. Patience, nature will prevail.

Wongdai

17th January 2009, 11:17 PM

We want vid of the ants fleeing!

Johncs

18th January 2009, 02:19 AM

I guess what I'm looking for is a "magic bullet" that wipes out the ant colony, rather than shift them somewhere else only to return at a later stage. We are on 25 acres with a 1 acre fenced off house garden. The ants nests are both in the house garden and the surrounding area.

Ants are very useful critters, without them we'd have no karris (or, probably, other trees). Their holes ventilate the soil.

However, I've found pyrethrum effective. Just mix and poor a litre or two into the hole. Ant granules also work well, they can be found in green sheds across this wide brown land.

Johncs

18th January 2009, 02:47 AM

Chlorpyrifos is a good product but need to be very careful, it works well on any creature that breathes.
,

The name made me think of chlordane. It's not the same, but it's not nice:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorpyrifos
For those who don't know what chlordane is, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlordane
This was popular too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT - the SEC in WA used it to treat its poles, subsequently causing problems for farmers on whose land it treated the poles.

munruben

19th January 2009, 04:39 PM

Had a similar problem once and got some stuff, can't remember the name, that you put down the hole and the ants turn on each other and eat each other. Problem was we ended up with an ant that was over a meter in size. :) Had to shoot it. :wink:
Hey Fred, you could always move to a high rise in the city.:D

rotten_66

19th January 2009, 04:51 PM

John,

Chlordane/DDT/Dieldrin all good old fashion organochlorine pesticides work very well but can last for decades in the soil if the conditions are right. We have areas of land here in Vic that have levels that will outlast all of us, even the youngsters like Stirlo and FC.

All of these were banned in Vic in the mid 1980's, that's how I got my start in the workforce, testing animals from the slaughteryard bound for the US.

The National Heritage can get exemptions, an old house here 1800'sbuild, Emu Bottom I think it was, they pulled up the floorboards and flooded the undersoil area, if they used chlorpyrifos would have to do it again in 5-7 years, whereas the chlordane means she's right for a long, long time.

Rum Pig

23rd January 2009, 09:39 AM

I did a search on the Internet and the yanks use something called instant grits witch is meant to be ground up corn. The theory is the ants eat the grits and gas builds up in there digestive system and due to the inability to fart:B the die of internal gas poisoning:U I have had a look for instant grits back no luck yet.

My understanding is that ants are a sign of poor soil condition so if you wish to get rid of them long term you need to improve you soil this is probably going to be hard in the drought condition that you live in.

I hope this has helped but I don't know how but I still hope:D

Keith_W

3rd February 2009, 06:14 AM

Rum Pig,
Got this mental picture of a whole lot of ants at Big Shed's place coming out of there nest, cocking there legs and letting off a big farts. A true Ozzy Ant.

Sorry ... Couldnt Resist....

Regards,
Keith.

Pulpo

21st April 2009, 12:17 AM

I use powered lime.

I think a 20 kg bag is around $5.

Same as the talc but cheaper.

I also you use it mark the ground

I also do not like the idea of killing the ants and destroying the soil.

The ants can do their thing not near my shed.

Cheers

Pulpo

MICKYG

21st April 2009, 04:54 PM

Fred

We have been through this exercise recently. There were about 15 very large nests of bullants on a block which were to be erradicated. A product called "WEBZONE" was used and it is mixed at the rate of 100 M/L to 20 Litres of water or you can make it stronger if it were necessary 100M/L to 15 litres of water. It makes the water look a bit like milk when mixed, and it is poured down the nest makining sure you do not spill it everywhere.

The active ingredient is Bifenthrin. There is not a trace of bullants in any nest two days after treatment they are all dead. Once the liquid is poured down the nest they come out and migrate away from the nest up to five meters at which time they die. Have not had a dead bird or any thing else type of problem. Hope this helps. The chemical sells for about $50.00 per litre and you do not need very much for an excellent result.

The reason for cleaning up the ants is to build on the block without the problem of being hospitalised during the process. Regards Mike:2tsup:

prozac

27th April 2009, 12:07 AM

Don't know if anyone has suggested this already but here goes. A few years back on the TV was an ad for echidnas, they had models and evertything. The ants crawled over over the models and this one echidna called Rex would come waddling in when called and eat em all. You could try Bunnies but they might not stock them anymore.

Pulpo

27th April 2009, 07:54 PM

And where can I get a girl like that?:D

Johncs

27th April 2009, 08:59 PM

ANFO was very common back home. PM me if you need any instructions. :;

I don't.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=838580

mattharry

21st May 2009, 03:20 PM

I use to try natural ant repellent to get rid of ants. One of the powerful natural ant repellent is the vinegar. The vinegar will cause ant to run away and leave the place. Look for the ants trail even in your windows or doors and spray it with vinegar. Once they smell the odor of the vinegar, they will not even try to come inside your house. For an effective result, spray near their nests and they will not stay there for long. :2tsup: