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Central Scrutinizer

They stripped 1/3 of this large Jasmine bush the other night, and worse still, they have taken a liking to my grape vines and did some major damage. We have had them around off-and-on for the past two years, but they got overly-aggressive this past weekend.

Tyler · Site Admin Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 12865

Wow how do you get rid of them?
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Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:07 am Post subject:

So far, I have not figured it out entirely. Ortho-Max does the trick to a point, but the ones that live just up and move. Me and my neighbor have been trading the same couple of colonies for the past two years.

Interesting little buggers. They make these huge underground labyrinths, (many, many [up to hundreds!!] square feet and all the way down to the water table) and harvest leaves of one 1 type of plant at a time. They don't actually eat the leaves, but rather use them to grow a very particular type of fungus, which they do eat. They can completely defoliate a mature citrus tree in less than 24 hours!!! Shocked

They will bite if harassed, but luckily, they are not nearly as aggressive as fire ants. But they are monsters, in terms of their size.

kweber · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:23 am Post subject:

we used to treat cut ant beds w/methyl-bromide gas...
but it was/is only availiable w/permit. IIRC, Amdro make a product that works well on cut ants.
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Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:38 am Post subject:

kweber · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 12:21 pm Post subject:

http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/main/popup.aspx?id=1187
here's some info...
methyl-bromide that we used to use was in a pressurized can and was sprayed into the bed w/a hose. apparently no longer availiable.
Amdro used to make a leaf cutter ant bait, but I dont see it on their site.
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the creepy uncle that scares the kids....

kweber · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 12:31 pm Post subject:

http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/conquer-liquid-insecticide
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the creepy uncle that scares the kids....

Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:47 am Post subject:

kweber, Thanks for all the help. This has been a long battle. Hopefully I will finally win the war!

Johninaustin · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 1118

Damn, those suck. Esp since they get into the house soffit.

I had to pull the siding and spray down the entire outside wall to get rid of them. Mad

SailBad the Sinner · Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 1:31 pm Post subject:

C/S normal pesticides, even those for ants, don't work well on leaf cutter ants. They do not consume ant baits like a fire or black ant does. Instead the eat a fungus that they cultivate from the plant cuttings. It's like ant meth. The best technique is to use a fungicide on the colony and on the plants they are attacking. You will kill the colony and not just the individual worker ants out foraging.
I'm a DOD licensed pest controller and this comes up often.

kweber · Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:14 pm Post subject:

SAILBAD, I used to work w/ag chems yrs ago...
the best stuff is no longer availiable.
but I do remember the Amdro cut ant stuff was pretty good.
the methyl-bromide bombs would take out a bed in minutes..
poison gas warfare Very Happy

I dont even know if methyl-parathion is still used for boll weevils.
the old organo-chloride/ phosphates are probably a thing of the past, too.
maybe he could deep-inject acetate(Orthene) or malathion into the nest?
isnt Dursban gone, too?
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the creepy uncle that scares the kids....

Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:36 am Post subject:

Here was the "ant highway" when I went to get the paper this morning.

It stretched from in front of my house, and down the sidewalk for 2 more houses, then disappeared into the grass. Turns out all this time I just had "satellite" colonies. The real nest isn't even on my property... Evil or Very Mad

kweber · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:54 am Post subject:

even bigger problem, now.
looks like you're restricted to a bait they'll carry back to the main nest.
unless you can convince your neighbors to join in.
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the creepy uncle that scares the kids....

Jellyfish · Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:30 am Post subject:

High Yield makes a product called 38% Plus. It's 38% permethrin and it's sold by Turners Nursery. It's pricey, but I have had excellent results with it. I use an Ortho hand sprayer with a garden hose. I have vacant lots next to me and all kinds of ants live there, but this stuff keeps them out of my yard.
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Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:42 am Post subject:

I finally had enough (the back deck was LITTERED with leaves from the popcorn tree the other morning), so I broke out the big guns.

Tried the environmental friendly stuff (fungicide on the ants and their cuttings in the hopes of it cutting back on the ant food, Neem Oil, boiling water down the entry hole, etc., etc.).

Enter my old friend, Malathion!!! Laughing

Let them get a good trail going, and followed it back to the main hole and sprayed with reckless abandon. Yes, the backyard reeked of Malathion for a day or so, but it seemed to do the trick. Razz

[For now!]