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quote:
Originally posted by ElysianWort
...I notice that they are attracted to my fruit compost bucket and go straight for the sweet leftovers. It is true that they prefer protein though.
They are omnivores and will also feed on dead animals as well as plants and exudates of insects. And they will also take food from other ants. They do show preferences for proteins so it is the best vector for IGRs or toxins.
Experiment 5.1 showed that ants consumed a significantly greater amount of both protein and protein/sugar solution than either sugar solution or the control.
https://www.emu.edu/chemistry/Troyer_EJ_et_al_2009.pdf
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LFA are attracted to molasses. As an experiment I put a split-pea sized drop out and it has about as many "customers" as the cockroach bait.
I've thought about blending something with molasses and using that. It's already thick and sticky so good for using in arboreal situations. But more experiments are required first, I was thinking of adding some liver powder and seeing what that does to the molasses attraction.
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I'll have to try the Provaunt next time; I wanted to use it before but CPS was out and no one else carries it. Have you tried the rapid-dispersion xanthan gum? I think that will make a difference in getting it smoother. The first batch of gel bait I made the gum dissolved fairly easily (no idea why) and the sprayer clogged a lot less. Every time I've made it since then has been a huge headache, the sprayer works for about five minutes before clogging or even breaking completely.
If you find a good sprayer, let us know! I tried one of the other types the ant lab listed but it was even worse than the Zep bottle, so I went back to that. I think a backpack sprayer might work better but that would be a huge pain.
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I've tried a "super soaker" as well as a pressurized tank. Both had to be thrown away after the attempt. The super soaker actually worked REALLY well for like 2-3 shots. Then it was game over. A 30ml syringe with the tip widened by cutting works great, and reaches 20-30', but is too time consuming to use on anything but a tiny lot or an area with few trees. Another problem we have in application is we have free ranging chickens that we eat and collect eggs from, so spreading Siesta is not an option for the ground ants. We have to use bait stations that keep the chickens out of the Siesta and that is only practical around the house.
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Terracore: "Master Blaster" works for me. Spray reaches about 20 ft up and rarely clogs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P8E4338/
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I used the ZEP sprayers and my first one lasted about 7 treatments with Tango.
I found the best way to mix the liquid is to put an egg beater in an electric drill and I can blend everything to a very smooth consistency so nothing clogs the spray bottle.
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Thanks for the link. I might try the MASTER BLASTER. Plus its an awesome name.
I tried the egg beater in a drill method and wasn't happy with it so I bought a regular electric two-beater mixer like mom and Grandma used to use. Makes the smoothest, silkiest tango or provaunt goo, but the Zep sprayers just don't last. The first one I had was good for two applications, since then I've never had one last a single application. I even tried buying from different sources wondering if I was getting a knock off or a bad manufacturing run. My other idea was that maybe it was the brand of xantham. Though it seems to be the "mayonnaise" thickness the HAL discusses in the recipe. I even tried using liver powder instead of peanut butter. No dice. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, though I know others have problems with the Zep sprayers too, so not sure what to think. Really just looking for a new delivery option at this point.
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Went to meeting a couple weeks back put on by BIISC.
A few things I thought interesting.
Not sure if this has appeared on PW or not.
It seems there was an old mixing method of tango that resulted in a lumpy consistency. They have a new mix method now that saves sprayers from premature clogging.
Use two mixing buckets for the tango/provant bait mix.
1. Measure and pour oil into one bucket
2. Measure and add xanthum gum to oil and mix thourly.
3. Measure and add penut butter to oil and xanthum gum mixture and them mix.
4. Measure water and add to seperate bucket.
5. Measure tango/provant and add to water, then mix.
6. Consistently mix water mixture and slowly pour in oil mixture. Mix until incorporated.
7. Pour bait mixture into spray bottles.
Not related to tango/provant -
For the kill baits, what ever you use, the ants will figure out the kill baits are bad and avoid them for a few months after determining they are bad. After a few months, they will forget and try it out again.
Unrelated to the above.
When one lfa stings, it emits a pheromone that signals all the other lfa to sting. So, if you have more than one ant on you and agitate it, be prepared to get stung by the others, regardless of their current situation, pheromone signal rules.
Have a great day!
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In another thread, I mentioned biting ants that prefer sugar and carbs to protein. Somebody at Home Depot said she knew all about them and recommended "Max" something (Max Force?) bait stations. The ants loved them to death. Literally. It's been more than a week since I've seen an ant in the house. Yay!
We also use Home Defender on the foundation, but I think these ants were nesting in the wall or something.
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