Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire ANTS! How to get rid of em without chemicals?

Well, right after I set-up our kids new swing-set, we notice a decently large ant nest right close to the swing-set. I want to get rid of them without any chemical treatment that would cause me to not allow my kids and pups out there. I read very hot water will do it, we tried that but the nest must be too deep. I've read of mixtures with Borax that are said to work, but haven't tried that yet...Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

They ain't fire ants. Why are you even bothering with them at all?

Because they are close enough to the play area. My 1 year old walks and crawls around the play area and these little buggers (the ants) will crawl on the kids and they do bite. I'd just assume get rid of them.

Maybe I should just do this!?!?

Not sure there is an easy way without chemicals...

Having said that, read up on the recommended chemicals as I am sure there are certain ones which are pretty much non toxic to humans and animals in the doses required to kill ants..

Diatomaceous earth will wear the legs off the little buggers - and is non-toxic to kids & pets.

I've read about this too...interesting concept.

everclear or rubbing alcohol at a high concentrate.

dump a bunch down the main hole and cover it with a bowl or something that can seal in the vapors. they will all be dead in no time. Gasoline also works but I wouldn't recommend it.

Also works pretty well on cockroaches, if you're fighting them. takes a while, but works. I like food-grade. Our local feed mill is my source. It's finer texture than the swimming pool stuff, and seems to work a mite better, IMHO.

permetherin, and keep the kids out for a few days. Poured down into the nest you won't have much residual up top anyway.

Kids breathe worse things day to day in the air..... exposing em to a bit of something ain't the end.....

Baby powder? I saw an old guy sprinkle it around a camp site. He said it killed ants.

Evaportative cooling works for me. Just pour a gallon of gasoline on it during the heat of the day and let it evaporate. The hotter the day, the better.

Gasoline does seem to work but can be dangerous.

Call your County extension agent and ask if there any steam ant killers around. They are used here quite a bit to kill fire ant beds in pastures. Steam injection works but the fire ants will eventually come back.

boiling water works if it's not too deep...it will kill the grass however.

You all do know that gasoline is a chemical right?

You have to use something that gets the queen, otherwise she will just lay more generations of workers.

Baby powder etc does not kill ants, it has scent which screws up their ability to lay scent trails and they avoid it, but these things are not likely to keep things out of the lawn.

Ant bait work the best, particularly the ones that get carried back to the nest. These come in stake form and can be driven into the ground.

borax etc are good killers of workers but tend to be temporary solutions

well, obviously...

Are your kids going to eat the dam dirt ? the epa ..got rid of anything that worked....and the rest of us here managed to make it thru all the old bug killer's...

Buy a can of Copenhagen snuff. Put it in a gallon jug of water and let it sit in the sun for a few hours, then pour it on the ant pile.

Watching how fast the results are may also make you quit dipping if you are a chewer.

They could...thats what kids do. That and cross-contamination when they track through it and such.

I misread the topic title.
Thought it said "antis ".

'd be a more entertaining thread but none the less...

WTF 's wrong with explosives?
Worked when you was a kid, didn't it?