The cheapest way to get rid of fire ants

Living in the south, there is an invasive species with which we have to live. The fire ant.

While you can go to some retailer and buy some ant poison like Amdro, there are some cheaper alternatives.

If there is a bed nearby but you don't want to kill it, then you can spread copious amounts of powdered cinnamon where you don't want then to go. All the species of ants that I have tried this with for some reason hate the smell of cinnamon and avoid it. This is particularly good around bee hives.

Why? Don't know. Don't care. It works.

My grandmother used to sprinkle grits on the mounds and said they'd eat it, it would swell and kill them. I've never seen any kind of proof for this.

What I use is laundry detergent - the powdered stuff like Tide. Soap like Dreft will not work.

Simply sprinkle about a tablespoon on top of the mound and they will be gone in just a few days.

One draw back is that it also kills the grass right around the mound.

Not getting stung (they bite for leverage and then sting) is far more important to me than a few bare spots in my yard.

Five minute freewrite prompt ant poison

Image by skeeze