insecticide

[nosirrahkcaz]

Question regarding insecticides. My hive is currently in my back yard and I'm starting to get a bad ant infestation. Traditionally I've put a granuale insecticide down in the grass, such as a Scotts brand. I checked the bag and the insects it targets and it doesn't list bees and it wouldn't get on sources of pollen, so would it be safe to put down. I would spread it in the backyard and the hive is in the side yard. Any thoughts?

[GSF]

I've read on here where others have taken small plastic coke bottles and drilled small holes in the lid. They then added a mixture of sugar water and boric acid. Ants are supposed to take and feed it to the queen and larva therefore killing the nest. I plan to try that before long. Just make sure the poison don't leak out where the bees can get to it.

[capt44]

I'd be mighty careful.
A lot of the granule ant killers have a sweetner to entice the ants.
I have a friend a couple of miles from here put Amdro granules out a couple of years ago around his house and killed every hive he had.
He had around 7 hives.

[jayj200]

Amdro
Thanks
we have kinda sorta noticed an absence of fire ants this year. whats going on?
are the city fathers spraying some thing? Many other ants though.

been some discussion here about using coffee grounds to control ants.

I have watched ammonia kill on contact. hot water too.
I personally like screws, nails coated with axle grease under the hive we have no ant problem in our hives
jay

[Dallasbeek]

Boiling water on fire ants:  they had mounded up, so the queen and all the brood was up on surface when i poured about 8 gallons of boiling water on the mound.  When the foragers returned, they spent all afternoon carrying remains out to cracks in the pavement, like a mass grave.  Fascinating to watch.  I took a short course on fire ants at Texas A&M.  They can have more than one queen and allegedly all red imported fire ants in the country are one hive, so they can freely join another nest, unlike honeybees.  For satisfaction of watching those critters die, nothing beats boiling water.  I used Amdro for years, but haven't had any fire ants since I've had bees.  Jay, if things there are like here, the city fathers don't spray for ants, but they spray from trucks and airplanes for mosquitos, and that's not real helpful for bees.  I don't think it does much about the mosquito problem, either, since mosquito eggs and larvae aren't affected by the spray.  Why do we elect these idiots?

[jayj200]

Those who elect the electable are idiot's
jay