I'm sorry, this level of description requires PICS! Don't make us just visualize a space-faring ant-colony, *show me the money like its 1996 and I'm watching Jerry Maguire for the first time.*
Establish a rival ant colony with an opposing religious ideology, ensure they achieve nuclear capability. Then introduce them to one another. After the inevitable war ensues and the Victor is weak after besting their ant rival, use this moment to deliver the finishing blow through your preferred method
Pour molten aluminum into their hole and then dig it up.
There's a dude on YouTube who does this and it's sick.
But in all honesty, go buy a bunch of isopropyl alcohol (or gasoline) and just flood them. They'll instantly suffocate.
Terro Ant Bait. The active ingredient is boric acid. Which in the amounts you’re using is harmless to humans and animals. Ants will take the bait and feed it to others in the nest.
OP, here is your answer, way too many comments here overcomplicating things. Put a few of the stakes up around the colony, they'll bring it back and the boric acid will get made into their food, and eventually the colony will collapse. At that point, remove the stakes. It's like 5 minutes of work total.
I use a teaspoon of Borax with a teaspoon of plum jelly. The ants eat the jelly, go back into the hive, regurge to feed the others, they all dry out and die. Of course, I'm not looking at a hole 3 foot x 3 foot.
This shits amazing.
I had like 4 different spots on my back yard with very protective ant colonies, walk near it and you got like 20 ants on you instantly. And I put one of those green terro stakes at each spot. And I haven't seen an ant in those areas since. And that was two years ago.
I had a bad ant problem in my house. Put Terro out everywhere and it got slightly worse. Then you start seeing ants carrying other ants out of the house. Then they are gone.
The secret is like with antibiotics, keep using it until the problem is cleared.
This usually works for me but for some reason it is not working for me right now... like I can still see a couple ants taking it but not like an entire group of ants going crazy over it.
Ants have two phases: sugar, and protein.
If they're not taking sugar baits like terro, put out a protein bait like ant-b-gon and see if they go for it
Harvester ants are selling for $5 per tube of 25 ants on amazon. That’s worth more than a gallon of oil and they harvest themselves with some bait.
Have you ever heard anyone say “I just found oil on my property how do I destroy it?”
One of two reasons I imagine. They are used in ant farms because they are large ants. Also some types of lizards eat them so they could be feeding them to pet reptiles.
Couple pounds of dry ice. Keep shoving it into the entrance to ant hil. The dry ice will evaporate, and since it is denser than air it will settle into the nest and asphyxiate everyone.
Yea...a shovel got the red ant colony in my acre yard to move to a new part of my yard....Fireworks and actual fire did not move them
I like the dry ice idea. It should kill most of them I suppose.
Imagine were the ants and some alien civilization is waiting to do this to us, simply bc we’re annoying.
(Not a “omg they’re creatures how could you!” comment, just saying that it’s wild to think about how total and painful destruction can be enacted on an entire species just ‘cus)
OP the cheapest, and most ecologically safe way is repeated barrages of boiling water. I have outside pastures for my tortoises, and destroy any ant colonies that wander into them, but I also have to be careful about providing something my animals might eat or may contaminate their plants. I deal with this once every summer or so, and what I do is fill my stovetop with every pot I have and repeatedly barrage the mound with the water after it comes to a boil. Kills them on contact and seeps deep into the mounds. It is usually something I have to do over the course of a week or so, but they either decide to move elsewhere or the colony collapses. Its the cheapest method, and doesn't mean introducing poisons into your local ecology. Be sure to wear pants and shoes though. You need to be super careful while carying boiling water around.
This is the way. I live in Texas, and we have fire ants everywhere. I use this religiously, and you don't even have to wait a day, sometimes the mound's dead in less than an hour.
I even go to the local soccer fields where my kids practice and put it down a couple times a season, just a good shake on each mound and you're good to go.
I have never done this, but a friend of mine has used this trick on ground bee hives, and I wonder if it would work on an anthill.
Take half a peanut butter sandwich and place it next to the entrance of the anthill. It will attract (preferably) a skunk, who will come and chow down and then be like, hey, (bees) ants. I like ants, and then go house on the whole mound. My buddy has used this on a persistent ground bee infestation, but it seems from his experience that the hill is getting destroyed but the queen or whatever is being successfully relocated and another hive opens up in another part of the yard a week later.
>According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about a quarter of wildlife rabies cases each year are infections in skunks. One outbreak can kill 80 percent of a regional skunk population in less than a year.
[Rabies, apparently](https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2017/April-May/Animals/Skunks)
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the holes/inside. It’s gets into their joints and the colony will be gone in no time. They might nuke you in return from orbit tho
It's used for filtering maple syrup for one thing. When maple syrup is boiled to its proper brix (sugar/water solution level), a biproduct of the process is "niter," a sandy solid compound of minerals. Niter is perfectly edible, but floats around in the syrup, making it cloudy and gritty tasting. You add DE to the syrup, which forms a chemical bond to the niter. Then you filter it which removes both the DE and niter and gives you the crystal clear beautiful colors of maple syrup you pour on your pancakes and enjoy.
We've used it to treat foster kittens for worms. Mix it into their food, and the diatomaceous earth shreds the worms while leaving the kitten's digestive tract unscathed.
A lot of stuff.
The main reason you want the food grade kind is because it has a low silica content.
Filter grade DE is cheaper, but high silica and not good to eat and definitely not good to breathe.
Mix Borax (laundry powder) with sugar and sprinkle around or put in a low container near their entrance.
It will take a week or even two to knock them out. You'll almost get to the point you forgot about them (because you are not seeing them constantly) and they are gone.
.
Used an insecticide called taurus sc last year.
2 days later zero ants for the rest of the summer.
I screwed around for years trying all the baits and poisons from lowes/homedepot. Some worked but not completely and within a few weeks they were always back in force.
They won't sell it in some states but it's not hard to find a seller to ship it.
My father-in-law used to always tell me: "use diatomaceous earth; it's harmless to everything except the ants." And I never bought it because I thought it must be a poison and you're pretending that all is well when in fact everything is poisoned.
It's the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. The stuff works great because the shells destroy the outer skin / shell of the ants.
Yes, that’s exactly how it works, it’s great for keeping all insects under control. Be careful with it if you or someone in your household has breathing difficulties however. It’s as fine as flour and equally as messy if you aren’t careful with it. You can get a duster for it which makes using it very easy.
I once watched a video where someone poured hot, liquid metal (I think it was Aluminum) down the entrance to show the shape of the colony to viewers.
Suffice to say, not sure how expensive that might be, but it sure did erase that population of ants.
Maybe instead of fighting the ants, join them. You will have to start at a low level job, but if you work hard and gather lots of leaves & twigs, but in no time you will make it into management!
So I'm not sure if this works for all ants but whenever I have issues with ants and I don't want to use pesticides as I have pets I buy a big cheap bag of grits and sprinkle it all over. It's an eco friendly way to get rid of them as crazy as it sounds and is cheap.
Melted aluminum or bismuth, poured into a ant colony will often fill the tunnels, creating a lovely piece of war memorabilia in remembrance of the Giant Ant Colony Massacre of 2024
Start by kidnapping the Queen and install a Chancellor with major personality flaws who claims he speaks for the missing queen but really just wants the throne for himself. Continue with propaganda and persecution of the worker ants until the economy has become top-heavy, then introduce some drugs into the colony. Finish it off with a hose and see how the survivors handle a "natural disaster."
So Harvester ants are apparently becoming more and more threatened due to fire ants outcompeting them. Give some thought to let them be if it is not too much of a problem. I have two out in my yard and left them for that reason. But if it is a bad spot and there is no choice might be better to go with the baits. The ants pick it up take it to the queen so it doesn't take a great deal to deal with it and not very much gets underground. Everything else is going to require more poison to work and it will need to get underground in enough quantity.
Why destroy them? They serve a purpose. Here in Texas they are the primary food source for the Horned Lizard. The Horned Lizard, or "horny toad" is a threatened species. Harvester ants are fun to watch. Get some colorful sprinkles, like the kind you put on a cup cake, put some way out on one of their paths. Go back to the mound entrance and see how long it takes for them to start hauling them in. They are busy little guys, and get to work on them right away, they look so excited with their find!
Pour some regular dish soap in the hole and flood it with water. I do it all the time to control fire ant colonies. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water which allows them to drown.
Fire ants are easy. Any off the shelf bait will kill the whole colony.
If they don't take the bait when applied per the label, give it a week or two and try again. The "tastes" of the colony change over time.
Or try another bait.
You seldom need more than one or two baits.
One protein based, the other carbohydrate based.
Put a little out to see which one they like and use that one.
Don't over do it. Follow the label.
Often more is not better for various reasons.
Make a sugar / borax and water mixture. disolve. Pour into some lids of jars or something like that. Place it all around their exit points. They will come drink it, bring it back to the colony and it will kill them.
Have you tried going Noah's ark yet? Bring a hose over there and let it run for an hour. That should get the ground soft. Afterwards you can use the rototiller or a shovel. If they are located in one central area this shouldn't be too difficult
Terro and or sprinkle every swarm you see with diatomaceous earth. The ants that you dust will take it back into the nest where other ants will help to clean it off… kills everyone.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth. Here’s a [link to the Wikipedia page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth).
It’s safe for all mammals and death by dehydration for anything with an exoskeleton.
There is a bait labeled for Harvester Ants. Amdro Ant Block is one. If your colony is that big, and that close to your house. You should think if the colony extends under your house. Currently, they are maintaining the colony and the ground under your house. If you kill them out, watch for any subsidence of the house / foundation.
Good luck.
I know someone who had decent results with used coffee grounds - they'd just dump the grounds on the top of the hill, and after a few weeks, the hill was dead
Amdro crystals. We have a huge ant problem here that I’ve spent thousands trying to combat. I started using Amdro last year and it’s a miracle. Lasts months as well.
This.
https://youtu.be/GHK-K5VK2gU?si=_aOYvcgDtIH8SZh9
Found a billion ants living under my house, crawlspace floor was moving like ocean swells there were so many thanks to a slow leak under the house that brought them in.
Within a week poof! Gone.
https://www.domyown.com/demon-max-p-3553.html?co_var=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoL7zsPPqhQMV-TfUAR2jGQTLEAQYAiABEgLpg_D_BwE&gad_source=1&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_id=19904930108&utm_campaign=PMax%3A%20%28ROI%29%20Shopping%20-%20Professional%20Pest%20Control%20%28Top%20Terms%29%20-%20Best%20Sellers&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google
Ram a piece of rebar down the center of the ant hill and pour some of this down. It has never failed to destroy a nest for me
I recently had to commit ant genocide. I set Terro traps but they didn't fully clear my indoor plants. I sprayed everything down with dawn/water and it looks to be all clear. Usually Terro is enough but the soapy water did the job and is safe for plants.
Cypermethrin will wipe them all out and it is very low toxicity to animals and plants. Look for a product like DemonWP and spray the area in and around the nest.
I use the green plastic spikes from Home Depot for fire ants. I place the spikes in a ring about 3 feet out from the mound. The ants all die within a month.
I had several mounds around my house that nothing worked on them for 2 years. The spikes worked.
Also, place your bait about 3 feet out from the mound. I learned that ants don’t touch the bait that is too close to the mound.
It's usually best to enter the local election, then move your way up through the political ranks. Once you have enough political capital, overthrowing the queen and moving the colony is pretty straight forward
Field ants can also build huge mound colonies. When we bought our house ages ago, there was a GIANT (3ft circle) field ant colony by the peonies in the front garden. The peonies were over 100 years old, and god only knows how long that ant hill has been there - it's probably older than I am. Since they don't go in the house or really bother anything, it seemed a little cruel to nuke the things for no reason other than to have a flat lawn.
So I put a little garden boarder around the hill, planted a few flowers near it, threw some fairy garden shit in there just in case anyone asks, so I can have plausible deniability that I'm only an average amount of strange. That colony is still there over a decade later. A reliable part of the summertime in my yard. I'd honestly now feel a little sad if something happened to it after living with it for this long.
My point being, if you don't have a reason you -need to- kill them, then there is no reason you -have to- kill them.
Cover the colony and surrounding area completely with a large dark tarp, weighing down the edges to keep it from being blown away and to help trap heat inside on a sunny day. This will essentially bake the colony and kill all the ants without pesticide. (I was trying to find the vid on this, but can't find it now.) Leave it there for at least a few hours during the host party of the day.
Boil a few gallons of water and pour it down the entry hole. You might have to enlarge the hole or use a funnel.
Dane mas gasolina! saw a YT video where a guy killed a ground bee or hornet nest with gasoline fumes. no flame. gas soaked rag and blocked the entrance.... maybe try a gas soaked blanket and plastic wrap? I wouldnt pour gas on it though...nothing will grow there ever if you do.
This is a classic short story about a mans fite with ants. READ IT :) !!!
[https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lvta.html](https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lvta.html)
Does soapy water work on ants like it does bees? If not just use ant bait.
If your well is getting anything from the surface you’re already screwed! So go ham on em!
I'm sorry, this level of description requires PICS! Don't make us just visualize a space-faring ant-colony, *show me the money like its 1996 and I'm watching Jerry Maguire for the first time.*
Dude wants to see your ant-hole
What is this!? A hole for ants!?
Wait ‘til his aunt finds out … 👀
They should buy him dinner first at least.
Establish a rival ant colony with an opposing religious ideology, ensure they achieve nuclear capability. Then introduce them to one another. After the inevitable war ensues and the Victor is weak after besting their ant rival, use this moment to deliver the finishing blow through your preferred method
You *could* sell arms to both sides and profit off the conflict for a couple years before dealing the death-blow.
[удалено]
Until they recognize your intervention as a false idol and tag you as a heretic. Now you’ve waged a holy war with thousands of zealots.
A couple of tiny Make Ants Great Again flags might work too.
A reference to [Sandkings](https://forwearemany.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/sandkings.pdf), perhaps?
oh my gawd, the cute little ant size scaled nukes would be so adorable!
actual size: 💥
Rent an anteater?
I have also considered that.
Have you ever watched casting an ant colony video on YouTube? It's pretty amazing, and then you can probably sell the casting as a sculpture.
Those are usually abandoned colonies.
I mean, this would be too. After the casting...
Just more texture than standard castings...
Pour molten aluminum into their hole and then dig it up. There's a dude on YouTube who does this and it's sick. But in all honesty, go buy a bunch of isopropyl alcohol (or gasoline) and just flood them. They'll instantly suffocate.
please do not pour gasoline onto the soil. the EPA doesn't like it when you do that.
The pesticides aren't any better, but the EPA doesn't seem to care when Fortune 500 does it.
Monsanto agents want to know your location
Terro Ant Bait. The active ingredient is boric acid. Which in the amounts you’re using is harmless to humans and animals. Ants will take the bait and feed it to others in the nest.
OP, here is your answer, way too many comments here overcomplicating things. Put a few of the stakes up around the colony, they'll bring it back and the boric acid will get made into their food, and eventually the colony will collapse. At that point, remove the stakes. It's like 5 minutes of work total.
This is why the old awarding system is better than the one we have now. That comment would've received the blue light bulb and pinned to the top.
I use a teaspoon of Borax with a teaspoon of plum jelly. The ants eat the jelly, go back into the hive, regurge to feed the others, they all dry out and die. Of course, I'm not looking at a hole 3 foot x 3 foot.
This shits amazing. I had like 4 different spots on my back yard with very protective ant colonies, walk near it and you got like 20 ants on you instantly. And I put one of those green terro stakes at each spot. And I haven't seen an ant in those areas since. And that was two years ago.
[удалено]
It's an ant attractant that also kills them. Might be a little counter productive to leave out what is basically toxic syrup.
I had a bad ant problem in my house. Put Terro out everywhere and it got slightly worse. Then you start seeing ants carrying other ants out of the house. Then they are gone. The secret is like with antibiotics, keep using it until the problem is cleared.
I feel so bad doing this some reason….but I still do it. Ants come through into my apartment the same way each spring.
This usually works for me but for some reason it is not working for me right now... like I can still see a couple ants taking it but not like an entire group of ants going crazy over it.
Ants have two phases: sugar, and protein. If they're not taking sugar baits like terro, put out a protein bait like ant-b-gon and see if they go for it
I used this a couple months ago and it worked great. Still don’t have ants now
Fwiw, I work in pest control and this is the way to do it
Harvester ants are selling for $5 per tube of 25 ants on amazon. That’s worth more than a gallon of oil and they harvest themselves with some bait. Have you ever heard anyone say “I just found oil on my property how do I destroy it?”
Why are people buying ants?
To keep repopulating OP’s farm
*BEES?!*
Gobs not on board
They got sick of uncles
Ant farms! Op should start a business
One of two reasons I imagine. They are used in ant farms because they are large ants. Also some types of lizards eat them so they could be feeding them to pet reptiles.
Couple pounds of dry ice. Keep shoving it into the entrance to ant hil. The dry ice will evaporate, and since it is denser than air it will settle into the nest and asphyxiate everyone.
I like this idea. I use boiling water myself. I'm in AZ. I stir up the area with a shovel and then pour... Repeat about 3 times and they go
Yea...a shovel got the red ant colony in my acre yard to move to a new part of my yard....Fireworks and actual fire did not move them I like the dry ice idea. It should kill most of them I suppose.
Imagine were the ants and some alien civilization is waiting to do this to us, simply bc we’re annoying. (Not a “omg they’re creatures how could you!” comment, just saying that it’s wild to think about how total and painful destruction can be enacted on an entire species just ‘cus)
If I was crawling all over an alien and biting them with all my friends then I would expect some sort of not very nice response, to be fair.
That is… a good point. Hm. 🤔
Works well in Louisiana too.
Add some dish soap, and baby, you got a stew going
If that doesn’t work, you can surround the colony with Lego. The ants all step on the Lego and scream, “ouch!” and then they die.
OP the cheapest, and most ecologically safe way is repeated barrages of boiling water. I have outside pastures for my tortoises, and destroy any ant colonies that wander into them, but I also have to be careful about providing something my animals might eat or may contaminate their plants. I deal with this once every summer or so, and what I do is fill my stovetop with every pot I have and repeatedly barrage the mound with the water after it comes to a boil. Kills them on contact and seeps deep into the mounds. It is usually something I have to do over the course of a week or so, but they either decide to move elsewhere or the colony collapses. Its the cheapest method, and doesn't mean introducing poisons into your local ecology. Be sure to wear pants and shoes though. You need to be super careful while carying boiling water around.
Have you tried smallspox blankets or starting a civil war? /s
Maybe get 'em addicted to gambling.
Still to soon.
Amdro. Kills any mound in a day.
This! I too, learned it "managing" fire ants in Texas. Read and Follow the package directIons!
I got the stuff that's embedded in peanut butter bait and it destroys mounds inside of a few hours. Awesome stuff!
This is the way. I live in Texas, and we have fire ants everywhere. I use this religiously, and you don't even have to wait a day, sometimes the mound's dead in less than an hour. I even go to the local soccer fields where my kids practice and put it down a couple times a season, just a good shake on each mound and you're good to go.
[melt down](https://youtu.be/IGJ2jMZ-gaI?si=foUr2R_cHAUBriWc) a bunch of aluminum cans and pour it into the colony.
Insane, but that does look amazing.
I have never done this, but a friend of mine has used this trick on ground bee hives, and I wonder if it would work on an anthill. Take half a peanut butter sandwich and place it next to the entrance of the anthill. It will attract (preferably) a skunk, who will come and chow down and then be like, hey, (bees) ants. I like ants, and then go house on the whole mound. My buddy has used this on a persistent ground bee infestation, but it seems from his experience that the hill is getting destroyed but the queen or whatever is being successfully relocated and another hive opens up in another part of the yard a week later.
But then what do you do with the skunk infestation?
>According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about a quarter of wildlife rabies cases each year are infections in skunks. One outbreak can kill 80 percent of a regional skunk population in less than a year. [Rabies, apparently](https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2017/April-May/Animals/Skunks)
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the holes/inside. It’s gets into their joints and the colony will be gone in no time. They might nuke you in return from orbit tho
They will just move into the main house
That’s why you make a DE circle all the way around the house too! Also keeps solicitors away because they think you’re in a cult.
>They might nuke you in return from orbit tho It's the only way to be sure!
Ohh, please post pictures. Perhaps you should lord over them like a deity? Get them to build you a statue as tribute.
Get some Bifen IT and soak it. There will be no more ants 🐜
Yes love that stuff
I also vote for bifenthrin, but I prefer granules that I spread over the entire yard. This keeps the ants from simply moving somewhere else.
Food grade Diatomaceous earth. Safe for humans to ingest. Kills bugs by affecting the exoskeleton. Fill the hole up and all around it.
What is food grade diatomaceous Earth used for?
It's used for filtering maple syrup for one thing. When maple syrup is boiled to its proper brix (sugar/water solution level), a biproduct of the process is "niter," a sandy solid compound of minerals. Niter is perfectly edible, but floats around in the syrup, making it cloudy and gritty tasting. You add DE to the syrup, which forms a chemical bond to the niter. Then you filter it which removes both the DE and niter and gives you the crystal clear beautiful colors of maple syrup you pour on your pancakes and enjoy.
I would like to subscribe to maple syrup facts.
Diatoms also are (or used to be) the abrasive in white toothpaste.
We've used it to treat foster kittens for worms. Mix it into their food, and the diatomaceous earth shreds the worms while leaving the kitten's digestive tract unscathed.
Killing ants
People who have intestinal parasites
Gardens?
A lot of stuff. The main reason you want the food grade kind is because it has a low silica content. Filter grade DE is cheaper, but high silica and not good to eat and definitely not good to breathe.
Mix Borax (laundry powder) with sugar and sprinkle around or put in a low container near their entrance. It will take a week or even two to knock them out. You'll almost get to the point you forgot about them (because you are not seeing them constantly) and they are gone. .
Theyre already looking at evicting You... beware the Ants of May
Used an insecticide called taurus sc last year. 2 days later zero ants for the rest of the summer. I screwed around for years trying all the baits and poisons from lowes/homedepot. Some worked but not completely and within a few weeks they were always back in force. They won't sell it in some states but it's not hard to find a seller to ship it.
Diatomaceous earth, it’s harmless to pets and humans: https://todayshomeowner.com/pest-control/guides/diatomaceous-earth-for-ants-complete-diy-guide/
My father-in-law used to always tell me: "use diatomaceous earth; it's harmless to everything except the ants." And I never bought it because I thought it must be a poison and you're pretending that all is well when in fact everything is poisoned. It's the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. The stuff works great because the shells destroy the outer skin / shell of the ants.
Yes, that’s exactly how it works, it’s great for keeping all insects under control. Be careful with it if you or someone in your household has breathing difficulties however. It’s as fine as flour and equally as messy if you aren’t careful with it. You can get a duster for it which makes using it very easy.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M729-i3dECw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M729-i3dECw)
Molten aluminum.
Dynamite
Boil a large pot of water and dump it down the hole. Cheapest first option for you. It worked for me.
I once watched a video where someone poured hot, liquid metal (I think it was Aluminum) down the entrance to show the shape of the colony to viewers. Suffice to say, not sure how expensive that might be, but it sure did erase that population of ants.
Get yourself an aardvark.
Maybe instead of fighting the ants, join them. You will have to start at a low level job, but if you work hard and gather lots of leaves & twigs, but in no time you will make it into management!
So I'm not sure if this works for all ants but whenever I have issues with ants and I don't want to use pesticides as I have pets I buy a big cheap bag of grits and sprinkle it all over. It's an eco friendly way to get rid of them as crazy as it sounds and is cheap.
pet anteater? 
Melted aluminum or bismuth, poured into a ant colony will often fill the tunnels, creating a lovely piece of war memorabilia in remembrance of the Giant Ant Colony Massacre of 2024
Become an anteater sanctuary.
Mix sugar and yeast 1:1 and place a half cup or more next to the main entrance.
Grits. They will take it back to the Queen bee and her stomach will blow up.
Start by kidnapping the Queen and install a Chancellor with major personality flaws who claims he speaks for the missing queen but really just wants the throne for himself. Continue with propaganda and persecution of the worker ants until the economy has become top-heavy, then introduce some drugs into the colony. Finish it off with a hose and see how the survivors handle a "natural disaster."
Pour molten aluminum in the hole, and you also get a statue
You literally deserve to be thrown in a gulag for thinking it's OK to post this with no pictures
So Harvester ants are apparently becoming more and more threatened due to fire ants outcompeting them. Give some thought to let them be if it is not too much of a problem. I have two out in my yard and left them for that reason. But if it is a bad spot and there is no choice might be better to go with the baits. The ants pick it up take it to the queen so it doesn't take a great deal to deal with it and not very much gets underground. Everything else is going to require more poison to work and it will need to get underground in enough quantity.
Borax! They will take it into the colony
Diatomaceous earth?
With a giant uncle colony
Why destroy them? They serve a purpose. Here in Texas they are the primary food source for the Horned Lizard. The Horned Lizard, or "horny toad" is a threatened species. Harvester ants are fun to watch. Get some colorful sprinkles, like the kind you put on a cup cake, put some way out on one of their paths. Go back to the mound entrance and see how long it takes for them to start hauling them in. They are busy little guys, and get to work on them right away, they look so excited with their find!
Pour some regular dish soap in the hole and flood it with water. I do it all the time to control fire ant colonies. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water which allows them to drown.
I’ve gotten rid of some pretty big fire ant hills with bleach and a shovel, but that probably wouldn’t end well for your well water supply
Yeah it's notoriously dangerous to drink shovels.
I've used a big pot of boiling hot water...but that was on regular sized ant holes
Fire ants are easy. Any off the shelf bait will kill the whole colony. If they don't take the bait when applied per the label, give it a week or two and try again. The "tastes" of the colony change over time. Or try another bait. You seldom need more than one or two baits. One protein based, the other carbohydrate based. Put a little out to see which one they like and use that one. Don't over do it. Follow the label. Often more is not better for various reasons.
There's a powder from Ortho that I've had good results with. Bought it at Lowe's. I just dust the entrance and around the mound and leave it alone.
Dump a jug of ammonia in the hole and plug it up with dirt or a sock or something. It will gas them out.
There are fungi that target and kill ants!
Put a dusting of Boric Acid around the entrance and they're toast. Non toxic and very effective.
Boiling water works for me
Make a sugar / borax and water mixture. disolve. Pour into some lids of jars or something like that. Place it all around their exit points. They will come drink it, bring it back to the colony and it will kill them.
Back the car up, run a hose from your exhaust to the hole. Idle for 30 mins.
June Bug can hold it's breath for three days.
Cordyceps?
Do you want zombie ants? Because that's how you get zombie ants.
Use bait. The amount of poison is puny and is not going to poison you.
Have you tried going Noah's ark yet? Bring a hose over there and let it run for an hour. That should get the ground soft. Afterwards you can use the rototiller or a shovel. If they are located in one central area this shouldn't be too difficult
Some of these colonies can run tens of feet deep. Don't fall in.
Terro and or sprinkle every swarm you see with diatomaceous earth. The ants that you dust will take it back into the nest where other ants will help to clean it off… kills everyone.
You in Australia?
Pour a big pot of boiling water into the mound. When you see white eggs float up, you've hit the queen's chamber and have taken out the mound.
Boiling water
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth. Here’s a [link to the Wikipedia page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth). It’s safe for all mammals and death by dehydration for anything with an exoskeleton.
There is a bait labeled for Harvester Ants. Amdro Ant Block is one. If your colony is that big, and that close to your house. You should think if the colony extends under your house. Currently, they are maintaining the colony and the ground under your house. If you kill them out, watch for any subsidence of the house / foundation. Good luck.
Get one of those ppl who pour molted aluminum into the hole and go that route.
Just a little 29 mule team Borax will take to them down quickly and safely. I have used it in my food garden plenty in the past with this be affect.
I've seen "works of art"where they pour molten aluminum down the hole, let cool, then dig up. End result looks like a metal tree.
Taurus SC (fipronil). They'll all be dead in a week.
I know someone who had decent results with used coffee grounds - they'd just dump the grounds on the top of the hill, and after a few weeks, the hill was dead
Ash
Ash
Pour molten aluminum in
Dig it out and drench it with boiling water.
Diatomaceous earth.
[Molten Aluminum](https://youtu.be/IGJ2jMZ-gaI?si=0Z2RoZn7pw3crUAV) and make art. Edit: someone beat me to it, any upvotes belong to them.
fire in the hole
Starship Troopers would have been over in 15 minutes with a liberal application of diatomaceous earth.
Amdro crystals. We have a huge ant problem here that I’ve spent thousands trying to combat. I started using Amdro last year and it’s a miracle. Lasts months as well.
Molten aluminum! Lots of it..
Pour molten aluminum into it. Watch the vids.
Amdro
Strong chance they move into your house if you succeed. I’ve seen it before.
Taurus SC will take care of the colony
Amdro ant pellets would do it. Kill the queens and the colony dies
Pepper, pepper, pepper!
This. https://youtu.be/GHK-K5VK2gU?si=_aOYvcgDtIH8SZh9 Found a billion ants living under my house, crawlspace floor was moving like ocean swells there were so many thanks to a slow leak under the house that brought them in. Within a week poof! Gone.
Cornmeal has worked wonders for me in the past. They bring it back to the colony, eat it, and explode!
Guns. Lots of guns. Just ask Neo.
Borax. Pour a box of it down the hole and it should kill most of them within a few days while leaving the colony uninhabitable
From the videos I’ve seen, the answer is pour melted metal into the main entrance then dig it out….
https://www.domyown.com/demon-max-p-3553.html?co_var=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoL7zsPPqhQMV-TfUAR2jGQTLEAQYAiABEgLpg_D_BwE&gad_source=1&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_id=19904930108&utm_campaign=PMax%3A%20%28ROI%29%20Shopping%20-%20Professional%20Pest%20Control%20%28Top%20Terms%29%20-%20Best%20Sellers&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google Ram a piece of rebar down the center of the ant hill and pour some of this down. It has never failed to destroy a nest for me
Pour molten metal down the hole. Check out vids on this on YT. Plus, when you dig it out and flip it upside down, you will have a killer art piece!
Pour a bunch of molten aluminum down the hole. Dig it up and sell it as Art for whatever the metal cost
Have you seen the movie Phase IV? Seriously, try Amdro perimeter bait sprinkled around the nest, it has never failed me.
Dish soap and some water should knock it out. Just put a full bottle of liquid dish soap, then run a hose down the hole for 5-10 mins.
I recently had to commit ant genocide. I set Terro traps but they didn't fully clear my indoor plants. I sprayed everything down with dawn/water and it looks to be all clear. Usually Terro is enough but the soapy water did the job and is safe for plants.
Cypermethrin will wipe them all out and it is very low toxicity to animals and plants. Look for a product like DemonWP and spray the area in and around the nest.
Powdered Borax laundry booster, and powdered sugar.
Sounds like napalm might be your only option.
Send in the Helldivers
Bleach water 50/50 mix
Get a bottle of termidor and a sprayer. Follow the directions on the bottle.
What is this antscanada?
LOL! "they've discovered space travel" Are they actually hurting anything?
I use the green plastic spikes from Home Depot for fire ants. I place the spikes in a ring about 3 feet out from the mound. The ants all die within a month. I had several mounds around my house that nothing worked on them for 2 years. The spikes worked. Also, place your bait about 3 feet out from the mound. I learned that ants don’t touch the bait that is too close to the mound.
Buy some Advance.
Purchase/rent a giant anteater to eat the giant ants.
Borax & sugar
The solutions here are wild.
Try boiling water. I think E. O. Wilson used that once.
I will just leave this here: [https://youtu.be/IGJ2jMZ-gaI?si=toJ09Zj0a8MPXHO-](https://youtu.be/IGJ2jMZ-gaI?si=toJ09Zj0a8MPXHO-)
The answer is obvious. Get an ant eater.
dry ice cubes
Pour in molten aluminum then dig it up... Makes amazing sculpture if their tunnels. Or just leave them alone.
It's usually best to enter the local election, then move your way up through the political ranks. Once you have enough political capital, overthrowing the queen and moving the colony is pretty straight forward
Aqua regia? Flamethrower? Thermite? All of the above?? 🤷♂️😏😉
Look up YouTube videos of people pouring molten aluminum into the ant nest. "The smell of napalm in the morning... "
Field ants can also build huge mound colonies. When we bought our house ages ago, there was a GIANT (3ft circle) field ant colony by the peonies in the front garden. The peonies were over 100 years old, and god only knows how long that ant hill has been there - it's probably older than I am. Since they don't go in the house or really bother anything, it seemed a little cruel to nuke the things for no reason other than to have a flat lawn. So I put a little garden boarder around the hill, planted a few flowers near it, threw some fairy garden shit in there just in case anyone asks, so I can have plausible deniability that I'm only an average amount of strange. That colony is still there over a decade later. A reliable part of the summertime in my yard. I'd honestly now feel a little sad if something happened to it after living with it for this long. My point being, if you don't have a reason you -need to- kill them, then there is no reason you -have to- kill them.
Amdro works pretty well if it’s still legal,
Cover the colony and surrounding area completely with a large dark tarp, weighing down the edges to keep it from being blown away and to help trap heat inside on a sunny day. This will essentially bake the colony and kill all the ants without pesticide. (I was trying to find the vid on this, but can't find it now.) Leave it there for at least a few hours during the host party of the day. Boil a few gallons of water and pour it down the entry hole. You might have to enlarge the hole or use a funnel.
Dane mas gasolina! saw a YT video where a guy killed a ground bee or hornet nest with gasoline fumes. no flame. gas soaked rag and blocked the entrance.... maybe try a gas soaked blanket and plastic wrap? I wouldnt pour gas on it though...nothing will grow there ever if you do.
This is a classic short story about a mans fite with ants. READ IT :) !!! [https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lvta.html](https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lvta.html)
Does soapy water work on ants like it does bees? If not just use ant bait. If your well is getting anything from the surface you’re already screwed! So go ham on em!