http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu/community/Beneficial_Nematodes_Not_Effective_for_Fire_Ant_Control.shtml

For whatever reason, the link won't work for me. But I gather from the wording of it that the Beneficial Nematodes aren't an effective control for fire ants. Wish I knew if the article mentioned cut ants.

I've Googled to find out how & where the BN can be purchased, and learned there are two types of them. One type is said to control ants, but it does not mention if that is all kinds of ants, or just certain varieties.

I think I'm just getting more and more confused!

Rusty

You might have to copy the link and paste it into your browser. See if this works better for you.

http://tinyurl.com/hurynfa

Now, this web page is an old one, but it's from an independent source. There are web pages that say that BN's kill fire ants, but those are pages by people who want to sell it to you. People who sell sledge hammers probably proudly claim that they kill fire ants, and they do!

If you find a more recent report from an independent source about this I'd like to hear about it.

You should be able to purchase BN at a good nursery. They keep them refrigerated. Both Calloway's and Redenta's here in DFW sell them. I sprayed them in summer 2015 to get rid of fleas and now a year later still no fleas. I don't have fire ants either, but that just may be because they haven't worked their way around to my yard yet.

Both links get the same reaction, it says "waiting for. . . " and then the link. The little whatever you call it that goes round & round while a site is loading, is there, going round & round. But nothing ever loads. I even walked off & did some chores thinking maybe I was just too impatient, but it was still the same when I came back. I guess I'll just stick to the Amdro I've been using that lists 48 (I think) types of ants, and the DE.

Thank y'all for trying to help, I appreciate it a lot!

Rusty

Wow, that's weird. Here's the text. P.S. Amdro works great but it does expire. I had some on the shelf for a few years and it just stopped working completely.

---

Beneficial Nematodes Not Effective for Fire Ant Control

By: Robert A. Dunn, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University
of Florida - IFAS

Recent press releases have promoted products based on the insect-parasitic
nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae, for control of imported fire ants.
This species and related nematodes have been used very successfully to control
many kinds of soft-bodied insects such as white grubs (larvae of various scarab
beetles), some caterpillars, and the larvae of fungus gnats and other flies.
However, they have not proven effective for actually reducing fire ant populations
or fire ant colonies in the field.

We are not aware of any credible scientific evidence that documents any nematode
species to be efficient for controlling imported fire ant colonies. These nematodes
are able to kill individual ants in the laboratory, but in field trials the
ant colonies usually respond to nematodes by moving, sometimes splitting colonies
in the process.

Among problems in using nematodes to control fire ant colonies are:

• Desiccation of the nematodes before they can penetrate deeply into the
  mound, especially if they are introduced when soil is hot and are not applied
  with large amounts of water.
• Application of the nematodes with a large volume of water is likely to
  disturb the colony enough that it will move and perhaps split.
• Imported fire ants can move much faster and farther than can the nematodes,
  so ants can easily escape them.

The products that appear to be most effective in eliminating fire ants are
those formulated as baits (small amount of pesticide in an attractive food)
so the ants pick up the treated particles and carry them into the undisturbed
nest. Unfortunately, many bait products are not legally registered for use
in gardens. They may be used in adjacent lawns, but cannot be used within gardens
that include food crops.

Although beneficial nematodes might be used to get fire ants out of gardens
by disturbing them, the same effect can be obtained at no extra cost by pouring
hot water onto the mounds or by mechanical disturbance.

Those who decide to apply beneficial nematodes to get fire ants out of their
gardens should do so when conditions are most favorable for the largest percentage
of the nematodes reaching the largest number of ants. Avoid applications when
the soil is hot, to minimize death of nematodes by heat and desiccation, and
to catch the greatest number of ants nearer the surface where the nematodes
can reach them. Most fire ants are deep below ground during the hottest part
of a summer day. Better times to apply the nematodes would be early in the
morning or about 12 hours after a rainfall during the summer, or during the
cooler weather of other seasons.

At this time, no biological control agent identified by scientists to be
effective against imported fire ants is available for sale to the public. However,
a fungus found by University of Florida scientists to significantly reduce
fire ant populations is now being prepared for commercial use and should be
available to consumers sometime in 1998 or 1999. In the meantime, Floridians
who wish to reduce fire ant problems will have to continue to rely on the practices
and products that have been proven helpful, following label directions carefully
to give them the best chance of success.

Both links work for me. Copied and pasted -- this is what it says:

"Beneficial Nematodes Not Effective for Fire Ant Control

By: Robert A. Dunn, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida - IFAS

Recent press releases have promoted products based on the insect-parasitic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae, for control of imported fire ants. This species and related nematodes have been used very successfully to control many kinds of soft-bodied insects such as white grubs (larvae of various scarab beetles), some caterpillars, and the larvae of fungus gnats and other flies. However, they have not proven effective for actually reducing fire ant populations or fire ant colonies in the field.

We are not aware of any credible scientific evidence that documents any nematode species to be efficient for controlling imported fire ant colonies. These nematodes are able to kill individual ants in the laboratory, but in field trials the ant colonies usually respond to nematodes by moving, sometimes splitting colonies in the process.

Among problems in using nematodes to control fire ant colonies are:

• Desiccation of the nematodes before they can penetrate deeply into the mound, especially if they are introduced when soil is hot and are not applied with large amounts of water.
• Application of the nematodes with a large volume of water is likely to disturb the colony enough that it will move and perhaps split.
• Imported fire ants can move much faster and farther than can the nematodes, so ants can easily escape them.

The products that appear to be most effective in eliminating fire ants are those formulated as baits (small amount of pesticide in an attractive food) so the ants pick up the treated particles and carry them into the undisturbed nest. Unfortunately, many bait products are not legally registered for use in gardens. They may be used in adjacent lawns, but cannot be used within gardens that include food crops.

Although beneficial nematodes might be used to get fire ants out of gardens by disturbing them, the same effect can be obtained at no extra cost by pouring hot water onto the mounds or by mechanical disturbance.

Those who decide to apply beneficial nematodes to get fire ants out of their gardens should do so when conditions are most favorable for the largest percentage of the nematodes reaching the largest number of ants. Avoid applications when the soil is hot, to minimize death of nematodes by heat and desiccation, and to catch the greatest number of ants nearer the surface where the nematodes can reach them. Most fire ants are deep below ground during the hottest part of a summer day. Better times to apply the nematodes would be early in the morning or about 12 hours after a rainfall during the summer, or during the cooler weather of other seasons.

At this time, no biological control agent identified by scientists to be effective against imported fire ants is available for sale to the public. However, a fungus found by University of Florida scientists to significantly reduce fire ant populations is now being prepared for commercial use and should be available to consumers sometime in 1998 or 1999. In the meantime, Floridians who wish to reduce fire ant problems will have to continue to rely on the practices and products that have been proven helpful, following label directions carefully to give them the best chance of success."

So the question now is what happened to that fungus from Florida due in 1999? I am desperate to find a way to kill fire ants, but am not finding a sure thing. I use Orthene and it works, but a part of the mound always seems to move a few feet away and come back.

Just FYI, standard practice is to sprinkle fire ant bait not just ON the mound, but around the periphery as well. That prevents the mound from just shifting sideways.

P.S. The fungus that was being investigated as a fire ant killer is Beauveria Bassania. Yes, you can buy it, but it ain't cheap. Just google it. Also, while it kills fire ants, it doesn't kill all fire ants. So while "organic" it just doesn't work that well. I used to use Amdro, but it expires rapidly. 3 months after opening. Look for products with bifenthrin. Works a charm, and granules are potent for several years.