Hubby told me about this the other day. Said an old Native American man told him about it. When you find a fire ant mound, just sprinkle on regular dry uncooked rice. The ants don't/can't eat it... but they high-tail it outta there quickly! I tried some the other day, but didn't remember to check on it in a timely fashion. But the mound was vacated. So, tonight there was a big mound of the nasty evil mean little biting buggers near the Calla's, so I stirred up the mound and then poured on about a cup of rice. The black "thing" there (to give you an indication of the size of the mound) is a regular grill cleaning brush/scraper. I will update the status tomorrow. fire ant mound with rice ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) And a closer... fireants-closeup ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
I think I might have to go buy a big bag of rice. You be careful with the rice though because with the amount of rain you've been having you could end up with a rice paddy. dooley
Dooley... I think our "big" rains are done. Starting tomorrow, my water hoses are officially back on the job. And when I was growing up... the main crop in this area was rice (and soybeans). The rice dryer is still in operation, although on a very smaller scale. If this really chases them away... wonder if they'll let me get a BIG barrel full of rice?
I wonder where the ants go? Great experiment, I will follow it with great interest. Getting rid of a nest really needs to kill the queen. Do they feed the queen the rice? Jerry
Jerry... I really don't think they eat the rice. Hubby said the old man told him "they can't stand rice". So... it's been about 12 hours since I poured on the rice. Upon checking the mound, I noticed that there's new mound area added. newer mound area ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) So I poked around the original area... no ant activity. They must be on the run. So I sprinkled about another half cup of rice on their new home... which had LOTS of activity when I disturbed it with a stick. fireant - more rice ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Update to come in another 12 hours.
You mentioned that rice was grown in the area. Are there any fire ants in areas that grow rice? Jerry
Good question Jerry. I have no idea. No more local rice paddies... I'd probably have to drive at least 45 minutes to get to the nearest one. Next time I go past one, I'm going to stop and ask about that. Hmmm....
Ants are still there... but I learned something. They were hiding under the layers of newspaper (under the mulch). So... whatever it is about rice that affects them wasn't "getting" to them. So, I sprinkled on the commercial fire ant killer. Tomorrow, I will pick out another ant bed that's just out in the grass and start the experiment over. Stayed tuned for Part 2.
Each experiment often leads to more questions and few answers. I have no concept of the nest density in your immediate area. 1-5/acre? More? If you completely incircle a nest do the ants cross over the rice or look for a way around? Jerry
I wonder if the ants think they are termites or maggots or something? Sounds like they are hiding..? Do termites eat fire ants? Hmmm.... will be interesting to follow this.
I was going to start phase 2 of the experiment today, but got side-tracked doing other things. I'll get to it though... perhaps in the morning.
