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We have been co-existing with heavy Argentine ant infestation in the home for years. We have tried several of the eco friendly alternatives, but nothing really seems to work other than kind of keep them at bay for a bit.
I'm not talking about a few ants now and again; I mean you can find many ants, in ANY room, ANY time you check, 365 days of the year. Every day you wake up to a new swarm of them in one place or another. Perhaps the sole of your shoe in the closet where you tracked something in, a few crumbs left on the kitchen counter, or some residual moisture in the bathtub... doesn't take much of anything to generate a 4 lane highway of ants coming and going. They come in and out of the electrical sockets, cracks under the doors, etc. They even set up nests in the houseplants; every morning you shake one or two out of the sheets when you make the bed. You get the idea.
Well, we finally called a professional and got advised to spray the foundation with Termidor (Fipronil). 12 inches up, and 12 inches out, from the home foundation.
The stuff is toxic. Reported to be the agent of many intentional and unintentional colony deaths when introduced. And contributes to be weakness when exposed in trace levels. Banned in Europe.
I'm not sure I want to put more of this stuff into the world, even if there are ants in the laundry basket every day. But my question is, how much of a risk am I exposing my hives to if I spray the house?
The hives are 60 feet away
there is NO water around the house to attract the bees
and there is NO plant/flowering/anything around the perimeter of the house to attract the bees.
I am in a heavily populated suburban area. The exterminator tells me this is the most common treatment for ants and termites in my area, so I KNOW my bees must be foraging on hundreds of homes/properties treated with the stuff already. And they are thriving. So, I figure there is pretty low risk of direct contamination. But.....
Has anyone out there treated their home/termites/ants with this stuff?
Did it affect your bees?
What would you do if YOU were living in a giant ant colony?
I'm not talking about a few ants now and again; I mean you can find many ants, in ANY room, ANY time you check, 365 days of the year. Every day you wake up to a new swarm of them in one place or another. Perhaps the sole of your shoe in the closet where you tracked something in, a few crumbs left on the kitchen counter, or some residual moisture in the bathtub... doesn't take much of anything to generate a 4 lane highway of ants coming and going. They come in and out of the electrical sockets, cracks under the doors, etc. They even set up nests in the houseplants; every morning you shake one or two out of the sheets when you make the bed. You get the idea.
Well, we finally called a professional and got advised to spray the foundation with Termidor (Fipronil). 12 inches up, and 12 inches out, from the home foundation.
The stuff is toxic. Reported to be the agent of many intentional and unintentional colony deaths when introduced. And contributes to be weakness when exposed in trace levels. Banned in Europe.
I'm not sure I want to put more of this stuff into the world, even if there are ants in the laundry basket every day. But my question is, how much of a risk am I exposing my hives to if I spray the house?
The hives are 60 feet away
there is NO water around the house to attract the bees
and there is NO plant/flowering/anything around the perimeter of the house to attract the bees.
I am in a heavily populated suburban area. The exterminator tells me this is the most common treatment for ants and termites in my area, so I KNOW my bees must be foraging on hundreds of homes/properties treated with the stuff already. And they are thriving. So, I figure there is pretty low risk of direct contamination. But.....
Has anyone out there treated their home/termites/ants with this stuff?
Did it affect your bees?
What would you do if YOU were living in a giant ant colony?
