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ant hills in our yard

leomom72
leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
edited December 2024 in Chit-Chat
we had 3 fairly large anthills pop up in the yard over night, and chemicals dont really seem to work. anyone have ideas on how to kill them ? they are little black ants, each pile has several larger flying ants, and many upon many eggs..does the cream of wheat exploding thing work ?
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Replies

  • Diary_Queen
    Diary_Queen Posts: 1,314 Member
    my grandmother always used a teakettle full of boiling water. dunno if it killed em, but i think she said it would
  • skyeliz525
    skyeliz525 Posts: 54 Member
    WE've tried the cream of wheat thing, the grits thing, cornmeal...then we moved to the store bought granules and sprays. All it seems to do is encourage the ants to hide underground for a few days and then move the mound! Last week, I saw gas (maybe diesel) being poured onto mounds in a field near where I work...seems a little extreme to me!

    I'd love to know if someone has a planet-safe way to rid the yard of them!
  • punkywoo
    punkywoo Posts: 1 Member
    Sounds more like termites than ants. You should call a pest control company.
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
    Ants don't seem to like white vinegar.
  • skinnynerd
    skinnynerd Posts: 110
    Sounds like termites if they are flying.
  • keepitcroosh
    keepitcroosh Posts: 301 Member
    Better let pest control take care of it.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Hot soapy water or raid ant nest foam
  • skyeliz525
    skyeliz525 Posts: 54 Member
    WE've tried the cream of wheat thing, the grits thing, cornmeal...then we moved to the store bought granules and sprays. All it seems to do is encourage the ants to hide underground for a few days and then move the mound! Last week, I saw gas (maybe diesel) being poured onto mounds in a field near where I work...seems a little extreme to me!

    I'd love to know if someone has a planet-safe way to rid the yard of them!

    I guess I should mention...ours are red fire ants! And they do not fly...they just bite, bite, bite!!!!
  • GermanicKnight
    GermanicKnight Posts: 445
    I have used a mixture of cayenne pepper and garlic and dropped it down their holes. They never came back.
  • smtillman2
    smtillman2 Posts: 756 Member
    Cover the ant hills in used coffee grounds.
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
    Ants are an important aspect of the ecosystem. If they are inside then yes, get them the hell out, but If they are outside, then why kill them?
  • laarae
    laarae Posts: 332 Member
    http://naturalantkiller.blogspot.com/search/label/homemade ant killer


    Try this-all homemade
  • kittyhasclaws
    kittyhasclaws Posts: 446 Member
    Sprinkling Borax on them helps.
  • cutiepieinchi
    cutiepieinchi Posts: 158
    trust me flying ants exist! Chicago had an attack of them a few years ago. We eventually had to get professional help.
  • Angie_1991
    Angie_1991 Posts: 447 Member
    ew.....call Orkin
  • PLUMSGRL
    PLUMSGRL Posts: 1,134 Member
    Splenda kills them dead-if they ARE ants.
  • deadlights
    deadlights Posts: 30
    Windex also kills them. Pour a gallon down there :)
  • been285
    been285 Posts: 99 Member
    I feel your pain, I live in Florida,,,, ANT HEAVEN

    Hate to say it.... consider paying a PRO.

    Bait poisons do work. like dieting thou ,, no instant gratification.

    remember its you against 100,000 or so.

    bye....... later
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Ants are an important aspect of the ecosystem. If they are inside then yes, get them the hell out, but If they are outside, then why kill them?

    I usually don't bother with killing them, but the mound in my yard has grown lately... so I may have to issue the eviction notice.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Sounds more like termites than ants. You should call a pest control company.

    This. Call a pest control company ASAP before they get into your house.
  • ilovemyboysx3
    ilovemyboysx3 Posts: 12
    Wish you lived close! We'd kill 'em! We have a pest control company. To really remedy the problem and not just cause them to move, you should call a pest company.
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
    thanks everyone..im definite they ARE ants..im wanting to kill them because we have young kids and animals playing here, and i dont want any of them to get bitten by a mass of them..luckily we live in a rental house, the the company we rent from pays for it, but last time we had them spray for bugs, it was a half-@$$ed job..i appreciate all the input so far:smile:
  • jworb
    jworb Posts: 146 Member
    when I was a kid, my brother and I put firecrackers in the holes.... great way to end up with MORE ant hills (Texas fire ants). I don't recommend. We never really got rid of ours, so I don't know of any solutions but good luck!
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
    Sounds like termites if they are flying.

    Part of the definition of an insect is the presence of wings. Queen ants have them and male ants have them, but since they are used pretty much as breeding stock only, we hardly ever seem them. The wingless worker and guard ants don't exhibit the wings in most ant species, but are the members of the colony that we always see.

    Ants are fascinating. Please don't kill them unless you have to.
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
    thanks everyone..im definite they ARE ants..im wanting to kill them because we have young kids and animals playing here, and i dont want any of them to get bitten by a mass of them..luckily we live in a rental house, the the company we rent from pays for it, but last time we had them spray for bugs, it was a half-@$$ed job..i appreciate all the input so far:smile:

    Ah, yes. I see. This could be a problem.
  • RobynC79
    RobynC79 Posts: 331 Member
    Ants can have wings - mature colonies produce winged reproductive adults that are distinct from the other castes. Which means you've got large, mature colonies. So you can be proud of your excellent ant-raising skills, I guess.

    If they are a problem, get a pest control company to kill them. Boiling water will cool long before it gets to the hatcheries, so you might kill a few but not the majority. You'll just make them wet, and ants are pretty good at dealing with floods. Same with hot oil, which will just mess up your soil. Ant baits are slow to work and only really good for when you can't find the colony.

    I would get pest control to come, and then talk to them about environmentally-sound options.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    thanks everyone..im definite they ARE ants..im wanting to kill them because we have young kids and animals playing here, and i dont want any of them to get bitten by a mass of them..luckily we live in a rental house, the the company we rent from pays for it, but last time we had them spray for bugs, it was a half-@$$ed job..i appreciate all the input so far:smile:

    We have fire ants down here that make huge mounds in our yard all the time, and I'm allergic to them. Home Depot makes a pellet that destroys the mound, but unfortunately, since all the neighbors have fire ants, they end up back in our yard eventually. We have to treat the new mounds about once every other week or so.

    See if you can get a long-acting pest abatement program going with an exterminator if you can.
  • chocoholicdiva
    chocoholicdiva Posts: 345 Member
    Did you say black and flying? Emmets. They just fly around during mating time. Yeah, they're huge suckers, they're a nuisance, but they're mostly harmless. My city had a big amount take over one summer. But we've had problems with regular sized black ant hills in our back yard several summers ago. Last summer we finally had to use some Raid on the ant hill - several times over!!! It's nasty stuff, but let's just say that we haven't seen a single ant or hill this year. Very happy about that!!! No emmets this year, either.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    when I was a kid, my brother and I put firecrackers in the holes.... great way to end up with MORE ant hills (Texas fire ants). I don't recommend. We never really got rid of ours, so I don't know of any solutions but good luck!

    My brother and I did this too! I don't know if it killed any of them, but it sure was fun.
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
    when I was a kid, my brother and I put firecrackers in the holes.... great way to end up with MORE ant hills (Texas fire ants). I don't recommend. We never really got rid of ours, so I don't know of any solutions but good luck!

    my 30 year old husband still does this..he did it with a wasp nest over the summer when the babies or whatever they are technically called were about to hatch..he made sure the parents were gone first :laugh:
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