Repelling Red Ants While Out In The Fields.

[TheGhostWithin]

Hi all,

Interested in tapping you all on your wisdom and seeing if any other people have been in my situation and can help me out.

So, I am headed to the family farm shortly and it is such a lovely place, very quiet, relaxing, and filled with all the lovely fruit you could ever want to eat. I have recently discovered I do not need a work permit nor permission of my Thai father to fill my stomach (wahoo!).

I enjoy going on treks with the 87 year old grandfather, who goes on missions with his machete and heads literally up the trees by hand to cut down coconuts. The spoilt girlfriends brother will not get off his backside so I take it on myself to be his sidekick whenever I am around.

Problem being, the farm has huge numbers of ants, scorpions and cobras. I understand the scorpions and cobras are something I will have to just except and look out for (and maybe set up a stall in Isaan!) but I was hoping there was some sort of remedy to repel the red ants from me.. they even bite me while I sleep inside the house.

I love the farm, but the red ants tarnish my visits every time.. can anyone help?

[ib1b4]

When I go out bush or on the farm I will normally wear socks and boots to protect my feet from those tiny red ants which sting 500% more than their larger cousins, For the house I use Chaindrite pestacide diluted with water at a ratio of 35 parts of water to 1 part chaindrite (approx) and paint it around the walls at floor level with a brush or spray bottle about the width of your hand would be enough, Good luck Ib

[teletiger]

Weaver ants, the farmers friend. They normally stick to trees and will defend it (and it's fruit) against all comers. We even harvest its eggs....alloy. Not normally seen in the house accept for some reason they seem to have an affinity to electrical wiring. Their bite is a little painful but leaves no marks or after effects. Getting the odd nip is well worth the benefits they bring.

Regards.

Edit: I presumed we were talking about the large red ants? The others are a type of fire ant. Right little bastards. Soak them in diesel and burn them.

Edited June 4, 2013 by teletiger

[Mosha]

Isn't Larb with those any eggs a, Isann delicacy?

[hugocnx]

Smear yourself with something ants like to eat. You may have many ants as freeloaders but they have no time biting you. Put some alcohol in the smear and soon they all fall off.

Repeat with every square meter you go. Have some smear yourself...it's a painkiller too.

[TheGhostWithin]

They have the large red ants, the smaller red ants and also black ants (big ones). The ones that get me are the larger red ants which live in the trees, pulling the large tree leaves together to make a nest. They are attracted to the Longon on the farm. I wore long pants and long sleeved shirts but they manage to get under and begin biting. It can be painful and leave red bite marks for up to a week. I am the only one that gets bitten as all the other members of the family have skin as tough as the earth and the ants do not bother them.. the grandfather stands on the scorpions with his bare feet.

I am cautious to have myself smothered in their food incase they get a little trigger happy and think my leg is part of their fruit (my skin and blood will taste different from the rest of the family I would imagine) and do me more harm than good perhaps?

Is there anything which can be bought in shops to put on the body to keep these guys away? I literally do not care about the cost, getting out on the farm with the grandfather is what makes these trips back to the province so special.

[loong]

When you get bitten by the we4aver ants enough, you will build up an immunity to them.

I hardly feel their bit now unless they climb up to a tender area

I have been told by many Thai people that the absolute best repellant for weaver ants is urine.

Not sure if they were taking the piss or not

Joking aside, I have been told this by different people in different areas, so it may actually work.

Don't know if you would be prepared to rub urine onto your skin or not.

[apache9441]

Like Loong say's you'll build up a resistance to the Weaver Ants to the point where the bite will hardly bother you.

[loong]

Smear yourself with something ants like to eat. You may have many ants as freeloaders but they have no time biting you. Put some alcohol in the smear and soon they all fall off.

Repeat with every square meter you go. Have some smear yourself...it's a painkiller too.

In the weaver ant colonies, some ants collect food and some ants are like bodyguards. When they sense danger, the food collectors will run away from it, the bodyguards will run towards it.

Smearing your body with food may attract the collectors, but the bodyguards, that accompany the collectors are not interested in the food, they will attack you if they sense any sort of threat.

Believe me, the bodyguards see a threat in everything. Stand under a mango tree anywhere near a nest and they will jump out of the tree and land on you to attack you, they are extremely aggressive and they have no fear.

[farmerjo]

If you need to work on a tree that has the red ants,get some green wood,leaves and make smoke.Will give some relief.

[Packdee]

Traditional method of Thai farmer to get rid the weaver ant by using crocodile meat as the ant bait.
I
The ants will feed on the crocodile meat and bring it back to shared with other members of the colony.
The crocodile meat affect the entire colony, only a week every ant has wings and eventually all of them leave the colony.

More than sixty years ago crocodile meat was often available at the local market along the coast.

[tim armstrong]

When you get bitten by the we4aver ants enough, you will build up an immunity to them.

I hardly feel their bit now unless they climb up to a tender area

I have been told by many Thai people that the absolute best repellant for weaver ants is urine.

Not sure if they were taking the piss or not

Joking aside, I have been told this by different people in different areas, so it may actually work.

Don't know if you would be prepared to rub urine onto your skin or not.

I think you're right about urine. Its also the best thing for jellyfish and other saltwater nasties. I think its a stronger version of vinegar. I'm also immune now to the larger red ant. The little black buggers still bite me. Try the vitamin B12 trick. Its good for mozzies and most things that sting. You need to take 2 a day. Takes about 2wks to start. It gives out a smell that we can't detect but the insects can.

[Route21]

Try the vitamin B12 trick. Its good for mozzies and most things that sting. You need to take 2 a day. Takes about 2wks to start.  It gives out a smell that we can't detect but the insects can.  

2 x B12's/day for keeping the mozzies away? What size? I'm interested in trying it out. Not keen on using DEET - and it smells terrible!

R21

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[Route21]

PS:

Wiki says:

The dietary reference intake for an adult ranges from 2 to 3 µg per day

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[loong]

When you get bitten by the we4aver ants enough, you will build up an immunity to them.

I hardly feel their bit now unless they climb up to a tender area

I have been told by many Thai people that the absolute best repellant for weaver ants is urine.

Not sure if they were taking the piss or not

Joking aside, I have been told this by different people in different areas, so it may actually work.

Don't know if you would be prepared to rub urine onto your skin or not.

I think you're right about urine. Its also the best thing for jellyfish and other saltwater nasties. I think its a stronger version of vinegar. I'm also immune now to the larger red ant. The little black buggers still bite me. Try the vitamin B12 trick. Its good for mozzies and most things that sting. You need to take 2 a day. Takes about 2wks to start. It gives out a smell that we can't detect but the insects can.

Now, I am not sure, I may have remembered wrongly.

Rubbing urine on the skin is supposed to toughen it up, but I may have got mixed up as it may be that I was told to use urine on the bites.

[tim armstrong]

Try the vitamin B12 trick. Its good for mozzies and most things that sting. You need to take 2 a day. Takes about 2wks to start. It gives out a smell that we can't detect but the insects can.

2 x B12's/day for keeping the mozzies away? What size? I'm interested in trying it out. Not keen on using DEET - and it smells terrible!

R21

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That is the problem. In Thailand its very hard to find them in more than 100mcg. Or they are a multiB which is not much use. In OZ especially in Darwin you can buy them in larger sizes, probably because they are an excellent remedy for alcohol withdrawal, or hangover. But go to a Fascino chemist and ask them if they will get you a supply.

[Route21]

PS:

Wiki says:

The dietary reference intake for an adult ranges from 2 to 3 µg per day:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12

We have a Fascino chemist in Tesco-Lotus, Phetchabun, Tim, but how many µg do you need to take/day for it to be effective (now that we are in the mozzie season)?

R21

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Chicog]

When you get bitten by the we4aver ants enough, you will build up an immunity to them.

I hardly feel their bit now unless they climb up to a tender area

I have been told by many Thai people that the absolute best repellant for weaver ants is urine.

Not sure if they were taking the piss or not

Joking aside, I have been told this by different people in different areas, so it may actually work.

Don't know if you would be prepared to rub urine onto your skin or not.

I think you're right about urine. Its also the best thing for jellyfish and other saltwater nasties. I think its a stronger version of vinegar. I'm also immune now to the larger red ant. The little black buggers still bite me. Try the vitamin B12 trick. Its good for mozzies and most things that sting. You need to take 2 a day. Takes about 2wks to start. It gives out a smell that we can't detect but the insects can.

IIRC Urine on jellyfish stings is not only ineffective against them but can make it worse by triggering any unfired stings to go off.

Vinegar is a different story as it breaks them down.

[mo99]

I have noticed the ones in my garden have gotten cleaver, they don't attack me much anymore. I went down to the canal the other day and they were jumping at me. Maybe they eventually learn who their friends are? In my garden I leave them alone unless they start making a mess of a small unestablished tree, or the nest gets too big (fish food).

[RickBradford]

Weaver ant (red ant) larvae is a considerable delicacy in northern Isaan, and apparently costs twice as much as beef. (Well, buffalos are bigger than ants, so maybe supply and demand is to blame).

They contain more protein than fresh milk, and the whole thing is done on a commercial basis.

This page (in Thai), explains more.

[justben]

A simple solution that works for me when I'm out in the wild is rubbing dark clay mud on my legs all the way up to my knees.

[lxquick]

at school they told me that ant bites are acetic acid. so neutralise it with a strong base meaning sodium bicarbonate (i.e baking soda can be found in thailand but you have to look hard, try tops) then just rub it on the bite or dissolve it and apply shouldnt need much. its not going to hurt you either way.

inside the house its PET water bottles baited with their favorite food then close the lid. they wont last a week of daily this. i only do it in extreme cases because i am lazy and the ants help by cleaning up the crumbs and various dropped things.