I think I met some little fire ants today

[dayna]

We were getting some coconuts out of a tree and they fell down upon us. My daughter got several bites up and down her arms, I got a few on one arm.

We have a mottled red rash, very painful, and some tiny little blistery bites. I looked closely at the coconut and it had little tiny tiny ants crawling on it. And since they were also on my arm I'm guessing that's what bit us.

Gotta buy some ant bait I guess, that scared me. I'm glad it wasn't worse than it was.

It was pretty far from the house, so I'm not worried about the dogs yet, but I imagine they can move around.

I'm gonna try to capture some of them and send them in for testing to see what kind of ant it is.

Dayna

www.JasonAndBlue.com
My artwork

[Royall]

If they fell out of the tree, they are LRFs. Go to Home Depot and get some Amdro. I have used the Taro brand from Walmart with good results too. Just make sure the packages says "KILLS FIRE ANTS" I know the Taro brand comes in a bag with holes in the bottom. There is enough to go around the perimeter of my house and most of the plants and trees that I have to mow around or trim. It will take about 2 weeks to work but does a great job. The bait is taken back to the nest and it kills the queen. No queen, no more eggs, and ants gone for about 6-7 months. I'm getting ready to do it again and will be broadcasting it out into some of the more dense areas of the jungle on my 1 acre. Makes it easier to get in to cut trees and brush out. I put it around my banana trees too. The LRFs love getting up into those!!

Royall

Hale O Na Mea Pa`ani

[Carey]

We have also used bait stations out near our trees, as the Amdro works well, but only dry (and once you open the container, you have just a few months... the bait goes bad (rancid I think) & is not effective after...

If you would like to try a bait station, stop on by (only have seen them sold in bulk, & we bought a bulk...)

[OrchidIslander]

quote:

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Originally posted by Carey

We have also used bait stations out near our trees, as the Amdro works well, but only dry (and once you open the container, you have just a few months... the bait goes bad (rancid I think) & is not effective after...

If you would like to try a bait station, stop on by (only have seen them sold in bulk, & we bought a bulk...)

---

Hello Carey,

We have LRFA in our trees and, until I sprayed, around the house. We have pets that range on the property and don't want to put granules or pellets out and about. Because it is so wet here, we're not sure if Andro and the like would be effective. However, bait stations might be just what we need. How does one purchase them...and where would one go to "stop on by...?" Would you please elaborate on their usage, brand name and where to purchase same?

Thanks in advance,

Mike in HPP

[Carey]

We have the B&G bait stations that I got online...Ordered them with the PPS 2A (ant only) base. These are good for liquid, gel or granular bait, & were recommended by the Ag guys that ID'ed our LFA's for use out in the orchard with Amdro (the cover keeps the rain out, but obviously cannot place them in a low area that has water pooling or running through)...so I purchased an order of them....
The B&G site:
http://www.bgequip.com/original%20doc/PD...ations.pdf

added: Past threads w/info:
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14621
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13840
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3271

[csgray]

You can put out the granular baits and then cover them with something like old pieces of roofing from the recycle center. They stay dry and your pets can't get to it if you put some lava rocks on top. The ants are really attracted to that environment too.

Carol

[Hunt Stoddard]

LRFA love peanut butter too. You can roll little blobs of it in Amdro and make your own little lures, but make sure you either don't have pets around that might eat them or put them in inaccessible places. A sure-fire way to test for LRFA is to dip a chopstick in peanut butter and poke the stick into the ground or plant that you suspect might have them. About ten minutes later, check back and if you see a zillion little brown spots (and I mean little, like less than a millimeter long), they're there.

It's common to get blistering from your reaction to their bites, and it can get worse in subsequent episodes as your immune system gears up against them. The blisters will break and turn into painful little sores that take a while to heal. They're nasty little buggers.

[DoryGray]

Dayna, yes, I'm also newly aware my yard & house (upper HPP off Makuu) have LFA. They love the trees, & are non aggressive until they fall on you. Cass, entomologist at the Dept of Ag said if you have bites on your upper body, they are usually LFA. When I asked for Amdro at Home Depot they said they are out & not getting any more until Sept. Walmart was also out, so I found it at Ace. The bait deteriorates in rain & sun, so covering it w/ something sounds like a good idea. There's a great website specifically for LFA in Hawaii at: http://www.littlefireants.com/index.htm go to the link on the left for info sheets. It will answer all your questions.

[punafish]

Dory, for whatever reason that link isn't working.

[d96778]

dory