Never had fire ants hurt plants only me. And no I don't know of any "organic" solution. They will move a few feet when disturbed with boiling water, grits etc.

Agree that they don't hurt the plants - that isn't their diet - and your goal of "organically" eliminating fire ants is unrealistic. You will have to use the appropriate chemicals on them to actually get rid of them or better yet, call in a professional exterminator.

Fire ants, if you can work around them, actually provide a service in pest control as their diet is insects like ticks, spiders, mealy bugs, and various beetles. They won't kill aphids usually as they like the honeydew the aphids produce but aphids are easily controlled with other methods.

So it is a choice you have to make to do what is necessary to get rid of them. There is no such thing as a bug-free garden and most of the bugs in any garden are beneficials or at worst, neutral. Unfortunately because of their bites fire ants don't fall into either category.

Dave

Fire ants sure didn't end up in your garden "naturally". They are native to South America and were imported here in the 1930s. So I wouldn't worry much about eradicating them "unnaturally" with chemicals. Amdro (hydromethlnon) works a charm. It doesn't hurt people, birds, or bees, but I'd keep it out of waterways. In fact, when I use it on a hill, they're GONE. With other non-chemical means for eradication, like hot water, they just move. You've eradicated them from ONE SPOT.

I don't mind using Amdro usually but I don't want it in my gardening soil. I assume that some of the chemical could end up in my food?

Maybe I can run them out of the raised bed and then use Amdro :-)

"but aphids are easily controlled with other methods."

What methods do you suggest to control them?

Thank you!

Amdro breaks down rapidly in sunlight. It's not going to end up in your gardening soil unless you dig it in, and the Amdro that the ants bring down to the nest is an extraordinarily tiny amount. Plants do not take it up. What exactly is it about Amdro (and especially what it quickly degrades into) that you don't like in your garden bed?

Lots of discussions here about 'aphid control' that the search will pull up to read but average numbers in the average home garden can be just hosed off plants with a garden hose or spray bottle of plain water. You can even add a small amount of dish soap to the water in the bottle to kill them if used with care. And there are all sorts of soapy-water based commercial aphid sprays available. With small infestations or in small gardens all you need is a pair of gloves and squishing fingers to eliminate most of them.

But the big attractant for them, what leads to major infestations in any garden, is an over-abundance of nitrogen use in and around the garden. Excess nitrogen vaporizes into the air and acts like a flashing neon beer sign for aphids. ;-)

As for Amdro, in addition to the points Dan made, you use it in such small amounts directly on the mound that any that could somehow migrate to your garden would be miniscule and still pose no threat to you.

Dave

I wonder where the nitrogen source is from? I haven't fertilized except for some llama manure tea, which I understand adds some but I think it is much lower than commercial fertilizers. Oddly, I only have one yellow squash and the aphids love it but they haven't bothered the very large zucchini next to it or the cantaloupe next to that. I thought they would but they haven't.

Early one morning I'll trying hosing them off though I haven't worried over them too much as the squash is producing and growing.

Funny, I am trying so hard and we have a large burn pile that we burn brush on regularly. Sometime ago we threw some watermelon rinds on it and we have a volunteer watermelon growing on the brush pile with 20 watermelons on it. I haven't done a single thing for this plant and it has no bugs, nothing got the seedling when it came up and even my llamas have ignored it and they eat everything. :-)

Spinosad bait is organic. You need to have a spreader, but it works ok for the fire ants. Not as good as the chemicals, but much better than nothing.

FWIW, spinosad is highly toxic to bees.

I've only ever used the liquid spinosad myself. I did see it was OMRI certified, though I'm not sure if that was the kind of organic the OP was going for.

I did read it was toxic to bees, but from what I read, it was only toxic by contact with the wet spray--that when the spray dried, it was ok for the bees?

I figured putting down granules of dry ant bait wouldn't be particularly toxic to bees for that reason. Is that incorrect?

I would hate to think I've given bad advice.

(We personally get someone to come and take care of them-I've found out I'm allergic to them and our children aren't always the most careful where they step.)