We have a big problem with fire ants aka candelilla here in Panama. After some reading and experimentation, I found a super easy way to deal with them. Boiling water kills them, and coffee repels them. So, here is my process:
- I make coffee in the morning, and drink it. <3
- I take the coffee grounds, and place them around my plants, and other areas I want to protect from the ants.
- without cleaning the coffee pot I boil more water in it. This water still has lots of oils and chemicals from the coffee residue.
- Pour the boiling coffee / water onto the ant nests.
- Repeat 3 & 4 until the ant nest is all saturated and dead.
The boiling water does also kill any plants that are hit with it, but does no permanent damage, and leaves no chemical residue.
Hello @isysd, welcome to my backyard, it is nice to have your visit. These ideas you're giving me are great and obviously make a lot of sense. It seems to me an excellent alternative to eliminate these ant hills, which are usually in the open field, not so close to the plants. A big greeting.
That makes me think that the ants are attracted to a certain environment. Probably where it is dry and disturbed. I did this treatment to kill off the nests near to the house, but the only long term solution is to eliminate their environment. I did this by letting the wild grass and flowers take over those areas of the yard. I'm not sure if it is the moisture they trap, or the other animals they house, but the ants don't have success colonizing these more healthy ecosystems. Good luck!
I think there is an imbalance in the backyard next to mine. The person who lived there died this year as a result of Covid, and that land has become a jungle, I suppose it has been the starting point for the attraction and dissemination of ants. I am testing with coffee, the day before yesterday I made the first application. Thanks for reading and commenting. Greetings.