Thank you. I will be trying this. Also, just read on Wikipedia that it was first used as a pesticide in 1948 and fire ants were one of the insects it was used for.
We use old berry containers. There are small holes all the way around the bottom and the holes are small enough that bees can't get in. Also the top is solid so if you need to use it on the ground around the hives rain can't get in. If not using cotton balls use less water so the poison concoction doesn't run out of the holes.
I never had much luck with cinnamon. I use a propane torch to light my smoker and always have it with me. When I open a hive (with inner cover) and have ants, I light the torch and they are history, never to return. It gets the eggs, as well.
Thanks Joe, this is something my Grandmother taught me. Works well, but down here it seems to take a couple of weeks to knock out the colony of ants. For Bee Bob, you can set up the stations anywhere you want if needed. Under the hives, in an old box on the stand. Works really well.
I agree with you on the cinnamon Joe. One of my hives had ants in the feeder and I sprinkled cinnamon on the floor of the feeder. The ants walked all over it as though it wasn't there. The ants haven't tried to get into the hive but the bees know the ants are present and they are a bit upset with the uninvited guests. I know the bees are giving off an alarm pheromone and that is an attractant to the small hive beatles. The good ole days of beekeeping are gone. Thank you for the video.
Thanks for all your informative video's Joe. I follow your channel very closely. Are you going to make any video's on how you build your hive top feeder and your bottom boards? Once again, thanks for your knowledge and time!
Fireants like oily baits. I use Amdro fire ant bait outside on the ground. It has to be refrigerated or it’ll go rancid because it’s a oily bait similar to lays potato chips. Don’t buy a big quantity if your not going to use it within a year. I have a pecan farm and use a lot of it here in Texas.
How I dealt with ants in my yards. First I mow and find the new hump in the yard. After I've located the huge new ant nest I get out a bucket. Mix up a couple gallons of permethrin as the instructions say. I use 30ml of the 10% mixed with each gallon. Just dump.it on the ground where the hump is. Pretty weak but it wipes out an ant colony Lickitty split. I dump a gallon or two around every bee hive to kill any small hive beetle larvae that makes it out of a hive. It works and is relatively safe. It's meant for using around and on livestock.
Dont forget you can use borax also instead of boric acid.I use it in jars lying on their sides with holes in the lids that bees cant get in or reach the syrup.
Here in South Louisiana I don't think I have ever seen a fire ant in a hive. Fire ants are carnivorous and they eat plants and seeds. Fire ants are not like your typical ant that injects venom when it bites. The fire ant bites it's victims to hang on and stings it from the abdomen like a honey bee. Fire ants keep sugar ants out of the bee yard but none of them are desirable. lol
Have used Andro quick kill granules on the ground. Bees are unaffected and it will quickly eliminate ants from colonies. Worst case is the ant species called "crazy ants" invasive from S. America. Very fast and can drive bees off.
Here in south Louisiana I don't think I've ever seen a fire ant in a hive. Fire ants are carnivores and they also eat plants and seeds. They are not like most ants that inject venom when they bite, the fire ants bite an animal or insect to grab it and hold on then they sting it from the abdomen like bees. Fire ants eat other ants so they keep the sugar ants out of the bee yard.
@@danskisbees7348 I have seen them take the dead bees from around the bottoms of the hives, like I said they are carnivorous.I have mounds all over the place as do most of our club members and we see the black sugar ants in our hives but not the fire ants.
@@privatebubba8876 They seem to get the bees that can't fly anymore. I have moats on my hive stands, so the bees are safe as long as they aren't on the ground. Also, my soil is sand. Have the Argentine ants made it there yet? I think the boric acid bait stations I made took care of the ones by my hives.
