Amdro works well, and is not attractive to bees. Placed on the ground , bees ignore it, won't eat it, and are not affected by contact with it. Placed on the mound the ants carry it underground. In 2 days, the colony is done.

 

Michael Bush recommended borax and grape jelly. Many threads about it here on BS.

 

The borax-grape jelly mix works. I put it in a container next to the colony with holes that bees couldn't fit through and the ants were gone within a week.

 

I use Amdro and the bees ignore it.

 

I sprinkle ashes from my fireplace around the base of the legs on my hive stands. I have zero ants in any of my hives.
Now if I could just come up with something that worked on small hive beetles.

 

Thanks to all who have replied. But I want to treat my entire yard for fire ants (so my children can play) and not just around the hives. I've tried the amdro but as soon as one hill is treated, 3 others take it's place.

 

Over 'n Out is a pyrethoid with a Caution label. I didn't see anything on the label that pertained directly to bees. This from a label for Over 'n Out Advanced that I found on the web. What I found may not be the latest label.

It is manufactured by TechPac, LLC

"This pesticide is extremely toxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates, oysters and shrimp."

 

I would assume the active ingredient will kill bees. The question is will the bees come in contact with it? I would guess that answer is no. It is packaged and delivered in a system that targets the fire ants. I don't believe the active ingredient will be taken up by plants so it won't get into pollen or nectar that bees would forage on. If the area treated is only grass you should be safe.

A good local resource for questions about this would be NC State Cooperative Extension. You could start with your local county office.

Tom

 

Thank you Tom. I'm still a little weary of the broadcast method of Over 'n Out. I know the results on fire ants are great, but it does give me pause about what it may do to bees. I over seeded my yard with dutch white clover a year and a half ago and it starting to take off. Unfortunately the poison isnt a bait but is activated on contact.... and is systemic. I fear that I may have to forego the full yard treatment this year and fight these demons mound by mound. I will, however contact my county cooperative exchange.

 

Cavscout, what kind of results do you get with Amdro?

 

I've heard the ash method on here before as far as protecting hives. Seems very odd since they OFTEN will build their nest in a fire ash heap. Maybe it's like diamatious earth to them for a while. But it must not last. And I'd like to try the grape jelly thing, cause I have some black ants going and coming from my hives. But really, the imported fire ants aren't everywhere so, I wonder about peoples cure for them. I think they just eat dead bees. I have had a problem with the big red wood ants; I've seen them hauling out bee larva from the hive. Now fire ants built a big nest at the corner of my hive stand last fall, right next to a hive that made at least 2 supers of honey.

 

I sympathize with your plight. We have a home in Florida and fire ants are an issue with the kids (and me). We're paranoid to walk in the yard sometimes, and that's not good.

As to your question, Google is our friend. It looks like a lot of issues with pyrethroids and bees.

I've had to treat livestock areas for insects in the past, and it requires serious planning. I always went with liquid formulations with short holdover times, and usually planned to apply a few days before a rain. Then I would target as best as possible only the areas required ("band " treatments, etc.) or do small areas and close them off for a time. I always avoid broadcasting anything, but understand sometimes that just cannot be avoided. I treat individual areas for fire ants, and close them off until all residue is gone (I don't want my kids near it, either).

Livestock don't buzz around much. Hopefully someone here has experience on area segregation with bees. I would think that's the only real way to keep them safe, if you must broadcast.

EDIT: maybe you'll need to move your hives to another yard if you broadcast...have any friends who can bee-sit a few weeks?

 

I think I will try the Barrier method. I set up a hay bale garden and the fire ants have already invaded before the first seed was planted.

 

I use it as a perimeter on the edge of the lawn and of course the mounds. I live in S TX and ants are a big issue. Amdro works better than most products and it appears to be safe. You just have to stay vigilant until you have them under control.

 

We do band treatments in Maryland for ticks, and spot treatments in Florida for ants. Our Florida property is urban and much, much smaller. We used chickens up north for the ticks, but it was getting hard to take care of them with our travel schedules. So we moved the birds to our freezers (next to our hogs) and are probably moving back to chemical treatments this or next year. We've beat back the undergrowth pretty well, but it's a constant battle we might lose this summer (travel, again).

Let us know how it goes.