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PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:23 am 
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Location: Desoto,TEXAS
Hi, I'm new to the forum my name is Pink. I have a terrible fire ant problem and have been trying to control it organically. A friend told me about ABC Pest control out of the Dallas area and I had them come to my house but am concerned that they are not really using orgainc products. My house smelled terrible after they were here. Does anyone have any info about them for me? Are they really orgainic? If you have any info please help me, I don't want them to come again if they aren't truly organic. Thanks.


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:58 am 
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Have you called them and asked them for specifics on how they treat pests? Also, click on the "Dirt Doctor" logo, go to Library the click on either A for ants or F for fire ants and read about organic measures you can take yourself.

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PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:03 pm 
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i have fire ants in my tomato beds, can i safely use the dirt doctors orange oil, molassas treatment without hurting the tomato's?
thanks
rod


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PostPosted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:58 pm 
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Fire ants are a organic nightmare, but I have found that EcoExempt G controls the ants really good.
Try calling a company or google Organic pest control donot be fooled by companys that say there organic look at there chemical look at active ingredients you need to see something like Rosemary oil, Peppermint oil and etc.
With grainulars try spreading them around the perimeter of your yard ants foorage to bait if you put bait on top of soil you will have a much harder time eliminating the Fire Ants.


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PostPosted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:53 pm 
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I disagree that they are a nightmare. The ranchers I talk to ignore them. They say the livestock and pets learn to smell the ants and move away. Back when they tried to control the ants, the cost ate up all their profits. Now they do nothing. But this is for ants in pastures.

For fire ants at home, the recipe given above works great. Molasses is all you need the but orange oil adds a little more punch to it. Fire ants eat protein and avoid sugar like the plague. When you drench their mound with liquid sugar, they leave. Again, that is not much of a nightmare.

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PostPosted: Thu May 28, 2009 10:15 pm 
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Organic control is not quite up to speed with fire ants in my opinion. If it is truly organic that you want make sure you are specific in what you ask for. Many companies offer it and think according to their understanding they are. But your definition and theirs may be 2 different things. Check out http://pestcemetery.com/naturally-confused/ and you'll see what I mean. It may be the wave of things to come but sometime soon we should all get on the same page.

Best of Luck.


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PostPosted: Fri May 29, 2009 9:35 am 
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Quote:
It takes molasses 6 months or so to work on fire ants.
I have hands on experience with Pest control and Organic pest control ive owned 2 companys tha grossed over 1 million.
The general consensus from the Internet forums is that using molasses to treat for fire ants takes less than overnight to make them disappear. Spray at 3 ounces per gallon around the mound for a radius of ten feet and drench the mound with a half to a gallon of molasses water and see what happens.

Quote:
Also adding sugar to your yard will open up the door for Odorus house ants,Carpenter Ants,Big headed ant that can move from outside into your home.

Even though it seems like it would attract other critters, spraying molasses on your entire yard has no effect on increasing sugar ant populations. Again, this is the consensus of people who write in to these and other forums. Saying that is just fear mongering in order to sell his services. If you have a good product you should not have to sell it with fear. Molasses is nearly free to try, so give it a whirl. If you are not happy with the results, then call in the guys who spray stuff so dangerous that they need licenses to buy it.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 6:58 am 
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Better minds than ours have been working on this problem for years and there is no surefire extermination. The best you can do is keep disturbing them and trying fire ant killers until you piss them off enough to move out of your general area.




green pest control


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:42 am 
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That i don't know. But here are the best non-toxic organic garden
pest control solutions

Garlic fire spray is the stuff of legend. There are many recipes, but they consist of some or all of the following: garlic, chilli peppers, soap, vegetable oil, kerosene and water. Don't leave home without a concoction of this. Depending on its strength it will slay dragons and ants (must have dragons if we mention legends)!

The brew I use at the moment is very effective and goes like this:

* 2-3 garlic bulbs (about 6-10 cloves per bulb)
* 6 large or 12 smaller hot chilli peppers (any variety will do, or if unavailable try 1-2 tablespoon hot chilli powder)
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 3 squirts of liquid detergent (approximately 1 dessertspoonful)
* 7 cups water. (Use about 2-3 cups in the blender, and top up with the rest later)

Put the whole lot into a blender and vitamize well, then strain through muslin, a coffee filter or similar. Pour what you need into a spray bottle for use and keep the rest in jars with lids on in a cupboard or on a shelf somewhere, well labeled.

Experiment with it if necessary and check for results or any damage to young plants. If it fixes the problem and your plants are happy, you've got the perfect mix, but if there's still a few biggie pests, albeit struggling, then lower the water dilution rate or change the ingredient quantities slightly.

Lovely garlicky, pongy stuff, but the smell dissipates quickly once it's been sprayed around. This garlic fire mixture needs to be re-sprayed frequently, such as after rain and dew. It's best to spray every few days until there's no sign of pests, then about every week to 10 days for any eggs or larvae that may have hatched out.

Uses for this natural garden pest control are unlimited. Because it has oil and dishwashing liquid in it, it sticks to plants as well as suffocating pests such as scale and mealy bug. It will kill ants, aphids, caterpillars, grubs, bugs and just about anything small. SO BE VERY SELECTIVE — MIND THE LADYBUGS, LACEWINGS, BEES AND OTHER BENEFICIAL FRIENDS.

Spraying this mixture around the edge of your garden will deter pets. Rabbits, gophers, woodchucks and other garden gate crashers will also be discouraged.





dallas pest control


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:36 pm 
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Location: Garland, TX
After treating the mounds, we usually go in with two back to back beneficial nematode treatments. These are on yards that we maintain already with organic fertilizer anyway, so we're also applying molasses and other ingredients 3 times a year.

Works for us well, have been using these methods for over a decade.

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:59 pm 
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Location: Austin,TEXAS
Just thought I'd put in a plug for Green Light fire ant control with Conserve. This is a spinosad product, is organic, and works wonders on fireants. My experience is that it will literally take out a mound overnight. You sprinkle the granules on the mound, and even if it's during the day when the ants don't forage, they will come up out of the mound and start grabbing it. Apparently they can't resist it.

That being said, if I have to choose between ticks and fireants, I definitely would rather have some fireants around (these ants are the only predators to ticks). So I leave the mounds in the pastures alone (we don't have all that many), and just treat the ones that are up against the house or near a tree. We've planted a lot of saplings and unfortunately the ants like the moistness of the soil under the mulch so they tend to show up. Sometimes you don't see a visible mound, which I was surprised by. But sprinkled some Green Light and they appeared out of the mulch to grab it.

One warning, this stuff can possibly be TOO effective. I have always liked red ants (harvester ants), and unfortunately they will forage this stuff and it will kill them too...

Once it gets wet it won't work so I wouldn't apply it if you're about to get rain.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 2:05 pm 
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Location: Austin,TEXAS
Another option for indoor problems is Safer (brand name) Roach and Ant Killing Powder. This is just flour, sugar, boric acid, and (according to the bottle) roach pheromones. This worked quite well, though it took a few days- not as immediate as the Green Light. It's great that it kills roaches too (completely cleared them out of my parents' garage), but an unfortunate thing is it will also kill spiders. Effective and non-toxic...


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:18 am 
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Location: Frisco, Tejas
I get only a few nests per year - far fewer than most of my neighbors, including those who have someone come spray for insects regularly (argh).

Molasses seems to work well - I've read that the increased biological activity in the soil annoys them, don't really know how true that is since it is really hard to get an interview with their leader.

This website has some interesting facts about these annoying pests: http://www.fireant.net/Control/


Alcohol works very well as an organic cure. Find a good barrel proof bourbon (100-120 proof) Pour 4 ounces of this into a glass with 1 ounce of water and 4 ice cubes. Pour another 4 ounces into another glass.

Now go outside and kick the mound - it will take 30 seconds or so for the ants to emerge in their usual hate filled rage. Now pour the bourbon without ice and water over the ants and drop a match. Sit down nearby, drink the other glass and laugh as the little SOB's snap, crackle and pop.

If we get a cold winter as predicted, I wonder if it will set them back a bit? Evidently it takes a couple weeks of sub-freezing temps to wipe them out but if you see mounds this winter, watch the forecast and try to disrupt them when it is about to be very cold. I think they've entrenched themselves as far north as Kansas now so maybe we have a little Darwinism at work: With no natural predators here and only the climate to contend with, the cold tolerant ones are pushing north a bit further each year.


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:06 am 
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Location: Canada
Hi,

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), can be a potent pest in your home and garden. They can make large nests that affect the form of turf and can make mowing a hassle. If these ants establish colonies in turfgrass they can end up invading your home and can disturb compost piles, gardens, and even electrical equipment. Not to mention that their sting can be quite painful.

Keep sharing!


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:38 am 
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CHECK out my answer about ORANGE peels,... orange OIL,....THESE work OVERNIGHT,..."L"


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