Posts: 277
Threads: 62
Joined: Sep 2012
Aloha!
I saw the earlier post about controlling fire ants, but I'm not sure if the ones we've seen are them. The teeniest, tiniest little brown ants are invading the kitchen of a home we are house sitting in HPP. Not sure if they are fire ants, or what? They are only seen in the kitchen when food is out and about. We have not felt any bites and don't really find them outside in the garden beds or trees. But, we don't live there and are just maintaining their vacation property. We've used Terro and they just run right over it. We do not have these type of ants in lower Puna, just small black ones that the Terro takes care of. Any thoughts on combating these, and, are they fire ants? Mahalo!
Are these perhaps fire ants? They are the smallest ant we've ever seen! Thanks for any input.
Posts: 297
Threads: 12
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 7,727
Threads: 684
Joined: Jun 2011
Brown? Reddish brown? About as long as a penny is thick? That's the size of a little fire ant. Not unusual to have them and not get bit as they aren't very aggressive. I just took down 4 trees with them and only got a few bites and only where they got pinched under my shirt collar. I've held them in my hand, to see if I would get bit (trying to determine if they are fire ants) and couldn't make them bite me. Or maybe my callouses are too thick. But then when you least expect it, you can get bit. 100% of my bites have been between my clavicle and neck, when they fall from the trees and get ribbed/pinched by clothing. Not that I was keeping score, but I got about 4 fire ant bites during the same time frame I got about 6 mosquito bites over two long days working in the orchard.
Posts: 566
Threads: 22
Joined: Mar 2012
They're called "Pharaoh" ants or ghost ants. Real nuisance, too.
He who hoots with owls at night cannot soar with the eagles in the morning.
Posts: 286
Threads: 202
Joined: Jul 2009
Diatomaceous earth kills all bugs. It has been reported to be the most effective solution when fighting pests like fleas, ants and bed bugs.
Farmers dump food grade diatomaceous earth by big scoops in with grains when the grains are stored. It kills the insects that want to feast on the grain. This is a great improvement over the stuff they used to put in with the grain.
http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp
Posts: 1,179
Threads: 7
Joined: Jul 2012
Good point on the Diatomaceous earth
Im in top of Hawaiian Acres
I have a few kine ants, I know of 4 for sure.... I have tiny slow red/brown ants that dont do anything, they are real slow and sometimes you have to look close to see if they are moving. Then I have the fire ants in a couple palm trees, they move much faster but have the same basic look overall. And it only takes 1 bite to know they are fire ants, especially bad if you are sweaty and get 10+ down a shirt, or on a on a bare back.... like I did a couple weeks back ugh
I also have a much larger red ant in back of my property, never been bit by them, and also have some fast black zigzag ants that like dead trees.... I'll have to try to ID them with names, thanks for the "Pharaoh" ghost ant reference, gives me a place to start.
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
******************************************************************
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
Posts: 1,975
Threads: 47
Joined: Jul 2012
Jlgerk, D.E. is a white powder similar in appearance to borax, dumping/sprinkling it around your kitchen wouldn't be akin to depositing some soil on your kitchen floor. Also, D.E. comes in organic/food grade qualities and I'm pretty positive people ingest it regularly already; so I doubt it would be to much of an issue in the kitchen.
Cheers
rainyjim
Posts: 2,490
Threads: 222
Joined: Dec 2005
One trick to find out if they are fire ants Other than Small (red/brownish, slow moving) is get a few of them on a piece of paper.. And tap on the paper if they ball up or roll off or drop off easy they are most likely fire ants. Fire ants don't grip well hence when the wind blows they start raining down from the trees. Or when you start to prune back coconut palms gets real interesting!
One reason why I sold my large acreage.
Posts: 277
Threads: 62
Joined: Sep 2012
Wow! Mahalo to all of you who posted, as we are learning a lot about ants! We'll try the recommendations and hopefully have some success, and learn what these little guys really are.
Posts: 2,466
Threads: 316
Joined: May 2008
"... Fire ants don't grip well hence when the wind blows they start raining down from the trees. Or when you start to prune back coconut palms gets real interesting! ..."
Now that you bring that up, what does one do in the event of an LFA "storm"? Do you rip off all your clothes and dance 'till they are done biting you? I like to hike and the thought crossed my mind if you're a long ways from home and get attacked what would be the best way to deal with it?
Puna: Our roosters crow first
