This is what we do on Saturday nights around here.

[fattytwobyfour]

We've never had a problem with yellow jackets, but there are literally thousands in our yard this year. We have found 2 underground nests, and tried every "green" method for removing them. Fall is quickly approaching, and they only get more aggressive as the weather cools. I have two nieces under the age of 2 living here, so we tried this method tonight:

 

[beth]

I have a problem with fire ants. They have a deep nest right up against my front porch and have destroyed about a 5x4 area of grass there. That has been going on since I moved in this house 2005. Can not keep grass here. Been neglecting it this past yr since I've been out of town mostly. So, they killed off all the grass we had replanted there 2 yrs ago.
Its really impossible to eliminate fire ants once you have the problem, but I have got to get aggressive this year with them. That bare spot looks horrible right as you come up to the front door.

 

[meowzer]

Beth have you tried that Over and Out? It's expensive, BUT you broadcast it over your yard with a spreader and it really does work....we use it every year

 

[fattytwobyfour]

I'm sure I have fire ants too. There are all kinds of ant hills and bare spots in our yard. But my yard is really shady in places, so it's hard to get grass to grow. But I guess I need to investigate those areas and see if there are fire ants. The yellow jackets were a major concern though. They are very aggressive. And they also kill other beneficial insects in your yard.
I have had a problem with red wasps in the past. Our back deck is wood and we also live in a very wooded area. They love that kind of environment. For the past couple of years, I've been battling with them. I've seen the population decline, and I felt good about it. I thought that I was finding ways to effectively battle them. But now I'm wondering if it was the yellow jackets who were really battling with them.

 

[beth]

Have not tried Over and Out but will look into it. I have started Ortho mound powder which smells bad enough to kill just about anything in reach. I've also used baits in the past. I just need to become a fanatic about dealing with this area because I know there is a big colony down there. I'm looking in to Extinguish Plus which is a bait as well as a DNA zapper.
fatty, fire ants kills off native ants and obviously kills off plants and lawn. They can be dangerous to humans as well, especially if you are allergic to the sting. They can also be terribly destructive to property. Commonly invading outdoor HVAC units and even coming into the house! Last yr I attacked my mound outside by the porch and some strays got into the house. I sprayed and powdered our front door area for a week trying to make sure they didn't end up setting up home in my house.

 

[deton8it]

I use Amdro for fire ants. You can get a 2 lbs container for about $20 at Home Depot. It works great. It wont kill all of them at first so be prepared to kill them again but it does work great.
John

 

[beth]

I have been using this but it does not make this ant colony buried deep in the ground somewhere disappear. At least not in this area that is problematic. I'm just going to have to be diligent in hitting mounds every were they come up, and as soon as I see them.

 

[fattytwobyfour]

Terro brand makes ant killer, and everybody around here swears by it. I've used it for things like black ants with amazing results. I know they make some stuff for fire ants, but not tried it. But what I used was liquid/gel. Last summer, we had a horrible drought. Everybody in our town was having problems with ants, and the one brand you couldn't find on the shelf was Terro because it stayed sold out.

 

[beth]

Honestly, I would never kill off a black ant colony unless they were really creating a problem with plants or house. Killing native ants results in opportunistic fire ants to move right on in. Perhaps you live outside of fire ant range? And, once you have fire ants you will always have them. You can not eliminate them, only control them.
I have done some reading now, and I think I'll be trying the Extinguish Plus since it hits them on two fronts, biologically altering them so they can't reproduce and killing them with bait. This is not at the my local home store, so I'll get it off Amazon.

 

[fattytwobyfour]

These were coming into the house, and that's why we killed them. I leave the ants alone outside. That's why I don't know if I have fire ants. We do get red ants though. Not sure if those are the same. I need to do some research.

 

[dragonzim]

I had a massive underground wasp nest at my last house. We got rid of it by jamming a water hose into the hole in the ground at night time and turned on the water for a few hours. Flooded out and killed everything. When I dug it up a few days later it ended up being about the size of a basketball

 

[fattytwobyfour]

I'm trying to clean out a 28 gallon tank right now that I am going to use as a quarantine tank. I am using vinegar, and there is one yellow jacket that I guess has lived. My deck wraps around the back and side of my house. I was on the side, and it started attacking me. I moved all the way to the other side, and it found me again. I'm guessing yellow jackets are attracted to the smell of vinegar. :

 

[beth]

Fire ant, depends on where you are located. They are in the southernmost states.

 

[deton8it]

Really soapy warm water works well for killing bees/yellow jackets/wasps. They breath from through their body. Spray the really soapy water directly on them. It coats their body and they suffocate. It works pretty fast too since their metabolism is really high.
John

 

[snakeblitz33]

I have used a few 2 liter bottles of coke to kill some fire ants in my yard. Does the trick every single time. I think it soaks down into the ground pretty deep and kills em'. In any case, they never come back.

For yellow jackets and wasps I use Pyrethrum

Burning though is much more fun.

 

[fattytwobyfour]

I have tried the soapy water, and they do not kill the red wasps around here. Some of these red wasps you can spray wasp poison, and it stuns them for a second, and then they get up like nothing happened. The best thing that worked for me is that green wasp trap in the video. (The one that is full of hundreds of yellow jackets). I tried the DIY traps, but they never worked. In the spring I fill it with juice in the top, and peanut butter in the bottom. Wasps are looking for protein in the spring to feed their babies. In the summer I fill it with jelly & juice. But you see how successful that trap was in catching all those yellow jackets. That was from setting out there 2 days.

 

[fattytwobyfour]

This is from 2002. I live in a grey shaded county. Not sure how much has changed in the fire ant world in the past decade.

 

[deton8it]

Where in Arkansas are you? My wife is from Cabot.
John

 

[fattytwobyfour]

I live in Batesville. It's about a hour & 15 minutes north of Cabot. Cabot is really growing.

 

[beth]

You can't mistake fire ants. They create sizable mounds and, if they bite you, it will itch like crazy for several hours. Within a day or so the site of the bite will develop pus which is best to open up and disinfect otherwise it will continue to itch.
These ants create a a deep underground network which things like soda is not going to do much penetrate to the living quarters or the queen. I'm pretty sure that this is what my patch in the front yard looks like beneath ground.