Big Bitey Ants in Lawn - Guerrilla Forces - Tactics!

[Michael Hare]

Broadcast a very heavy dressing of lime across the lawn. Ants hate lime, and lime improves the soil fertility.

[whiterussian]

just dish washing soap mixed with water will kill ANY ant.

No poison needed......

to keep them away from places like electrical breaker boxes or your water pump etc, just throw some flea/tick powder that you use for dogs and cats in it. (which is poison of course).

They 'll never go there again.

Awesome

Broadcast a very heavy dressing of lime across the lawn. Ants hate lime, and lime improves the soil fertility.

Fantastic , there's a farm depot down the road with the stuff. Brilliant....

I'll also mix it with water and flush it down the network with a pressure sprayer for good measure - perhaps with a detergent chaser!

[notmyself]

Friend in the U.S. sprays WD40, or some variant of it, down openings. He then waits a short time and throws a lighted newspaper onto it. He says it works but no idea what nest sizes are though it does make some sense. The cold gas is going to sink before warming and starting to rise. A dispersal with the existing oxygen (from air) may allow the atmosphere to ignite. I could be wrong though.

[drtreelove]

Here's an IPM option: replace your lawn grass with Malaysian grass. From my experience with ya Malaysia, ants don't go there. Yes a big job and maybe not applicable for you or others.

But if you choose to replace the grass, you have to work at getting it established with a thick mat of foliage and roots. That seems to be what keeps the ants out. But fortunately I haven't experienced the ants you have described.

Prepare the soil well while you have the chance, after you've removed the existing sod. Rototill in a good amount of compost, preferably amend the soil minerals by soil testing and getting a prescription based on nutrient deficiencies found. Install ya Malaysia sod and water well. Mow it with at 2" height. Don't scalp it with a krueng tat ya, use a sharp bladed rotary mower where you can set the mowing height. This grass needs a lot of leaf surface to shade the roots and soil, to keep cool and conserve soil moisture; and it needs the leaf surface to photosynthesize sugars to feed itself. If you scalp it you stress it extreme.

As for the other options discussed, Lime may work for ants, I haven't used it, but it doesn't always benefit the soil, you can get too much lime, or alter the Calcium/Magnesium ratio, which is an important consideration. Soil minerals are best if tested for and used according to analysis and prescription.

If you go the chemical search and destroy method, the Chaindrite 30 SC product mentioned by another member is bifenthrin, a potent pyrethroid, insecticide/termiticide with long residual effectiveness (synthetic chemical, not to be confused with the botanical pyrethrum from chrysanthemum flowers). That would be my choice if I couldn't solve it with diplomacy or IPM/organic methods. Bifenthrin is one of the active ingredients, along with cypermethrin, in another Chaindrite product "Crack and Crevice".

S-85 is a carbamate which is an older generation synthetic pesticide and has more toxicity concerns.

Boric acid bait can be good for sugar eating ants, but this is something to know about:

Boric acid ant killers aren't effective against all species of ant. They work best against ants that are a nuisance in your home, such as the Argentine ant, the Pharoah ant and the odorous house ant. These ants are small and usually black or reddish-black, often called sugar ants. Other ants that normally stay outdoors, such as harvester ants or fire ants, aren't as receptive to boric acid ant baits.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/homemade-ant-killer-boric-acid-74569.html