Fire Ants in rack?

[bcr229]

The outside of the building needs to be treated to stop them from coming in. I would call maintenance and make plans to take my snakes elsewhere for a day or so.

[Crowfingers]

My fiance is from from Southern Texas as his parents always say 'the only way to keep fire ants out of your yard (and house by proxy) was to pour a 3 inch slab of concrete over your entire property...and your neighbors as well'.

His cousins' kid was almost killed at the play ground after falling into the sand box and disturbing a nest. The both ended up in the hospital for a few days.

I don't know that it would work - but I've used large saucers of soapy water to keep the black kitchen ants out of my enclosures. I used the plastic 10" drip pans for potted plants and set one under each leg of the table. Keeping the water soapy breaks the surface tension so the ants can't 'walk' on it. You just have to make sure the dishes don't dry out. It certainly won't stop them from coming into your home, but it may keep them away from your animals until you can find a way to stop them

[MR Snakes]

My fiance is from from Southern Texas as his parents always say 'the only way to keep fire ants out of your yard (and house by proxy) was to pour a 3 inch slab of concrete over your entire property...and your neighbors as well'.

His cousins' kid was almost killed at the play ground after falling into the sand box and disturbing a nest. The both ended up in the hospital for a few days.

I don't know that it would work - but I've used large saucers of soapy water to keep the black kitchen ants out of my enclosures. I used the plastic 10" drip pans for potted plants and set one under each leg of the table. Keeping the water soapy breaks the surface tension so the ants can't 'walk' on it. You just have to make sure the dishes don't dry out. It certainly won't stop them from coming into your home, but it may keep them away from your animals until you can find a way to stop them

This is the first reason I've heard of that would make Texas a questionable place to live. At least here in the Great White North, the 10 month freeze kills 99% of the bugs!

[zina10]

This is the first reason I've heard of that would make Texas a questionable place to live. At least here in the Great White North, the 10 month freeze kills 99% of the bugs!

10 month freeze ???

I would never come out of hibernation..

[Trisnake]

Thanks for all of the advice you guys!! Its honestly really helpful because I've done quite a bit of Google searching and have only found like 3 different relevant hits for getting rid of ants in a reptiles enclosure haha. Also sorry for being late to reply to this thread, its finals week and I just finished my first two exams. I know, it's a great time to be dealing with ants in the enclosures lol

@Bogertrophis Thanks for all of the info!! I think you're right that the ants are seeking water, although it hasnt really been dry lately. We tend to have pretty wet winters here, but I always find them near water faucets and they seem to be focusing the water bowl in the tub so I dont know what else to think besides that they are seeking water. The last several times I've checked the tubs I haven't found any ants, so I hope that means the worst is over. I still ordered some PAM and I'm planning on ordering some diatomaceous earth to sprinkle around the base of the rack in case I see any more ants. If I find any more, my plan is to wipe out the insides of the tub with the reptile mite spray I have on hand and use paper towel substrate until I'm sure they're gone for good (or until the PAM comes in). Although I have a feeling they may somehow be coming in through my stovetop. I always see them crawling on my stovetop-- so much so that yes I've even done the whole corpse warning thing before, standing there smashing them tediously one by one with a napkin and leaving their bodies for their brethren to find... ugggh. It actually worked pretty well though, as I haven't seen them there in a good bit. Which is nice, since I hate seeing them crawling around while I'm preparing food.

@zina10 I hate these ants too!! I live in south Texas and they're just everywhere, and Danger Noodles is right that they ball up into big writhing masses when it floods... gotta be careful walking through rainwater at night. Its terrible that your horses have had to deal with them like that, it's always awful when I see them on animals... theyre incredibly aggressive little creatures. My dogs have gotten into them before and it's not easy to get them off. Anyways, I appreciate the advice with the ant killer product! But since I have small dogs in my apartment as well as the snakes, I'm afraid if I put any product on the floor that they will get into it, especially if it's super smelly like you say it is... but I will definitely keep it in mind if I keep finding ants. I may just have to move the animals for a day or so like bcr229 suggested

@Crowfingers @MR Snakes Its honestly just insane what fire ants can do to a person. I had a similar experience as a young kid in New Orleans, where I grew up. Got my legs bit up terribly and also took a trip to the hospital... those bugs are no joke, and I was relatively lucky I didnt have a worse reaction. Yeah dont move south if you cant tolerate fire ants because they're everywhere not just in TX but all across the south

Again thanks everyone for your advice, I'll update as things progress

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[Bogertophis]

Re finding ants on your stove: they might be following pipes in the wall, but those might also be a different KIND of ants, maybe ones that like greasy food crumbs?
I know when I lived in CA desert, my house was built on different kinds of ant colonies that took turns scouting & then invading, so you can't assume they all want
the same thing from you...

Gee, what awful timing for you! Not like ants are EVER convenient...

If some are after water, I wonder if you could give them a decoy bowl of (spiked) water? something they'd get to BEFORE needing to invade your snakes. I think
I saw some remedy suggested about making a solution of water, borax & ?, then soaking cotton balls in it & leaving them around for the ants to sip from? I dunno?

But you're definitely in all our thoughts, & hoping you'll find some effective & non-toxic ways to repel them. I don't think it's possible to get totally rid of them?

[cchardwick]

Many years ago I used to be a beekeeper and the ants would get into the hives and eat the honey. To solve the problem I used a metal table with four thin legs. I put each leg in a small pail of water and put mineral oil in the water to keep it from evaporating. It created a barrier that the ants couldn't get around.

[Zincubus]

Many years ago I used to be a beekeeper and the ants would get into the hives and eat the honey. To solve the problem I used a metal table with four thin legs. I put each leg in a small pail of water and put mineral oil in the water to keep it from evaporating. It created a barrier that the ants couldn't get around.

The beekeeper stat is fascinating !!

You should post a thread telling us a bit about it !!
All the facts and background ..

We could then pose you some questions or queries ..


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[MR Snakes]

10 month freeze ???

I would never come out of hibernation..

I'd say something......but I won't.........