# How to kill ants in a goat friendly way!!!!



## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

Please write back ASAP! There are so many ants in my goat pen! They are red ants with black thoraxes. They bite hard and I don't want my goats getting hurt. How do I kill them? What stuff kills ants but is safe for goats to eat?my goats eat anything that's in their cage.


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

You could try food grade diatomaceous earth. It's a fine powder, and you can sprinkle it anywhere the ants are. Your goats will probably try to eat it if it's in a pile.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

You have to find and kill the nest, just killing individual ants doesn't solve the problem.


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## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

Thanks  Any more ideas would be helpful too. I need any tricks lol


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Well, the way I do it involves a shot gun, a can of diesel, and fire :lol:


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Follow the ant trails-you may find something that is attracting them into the pen, or you may find the nest. If the nest is outside of the pen you could maybe use baits or something if they are the right kind for that species of ant. Did you know the county ag departments often have free pest identification? You bring in a sample & out here anyway, they ID it while you wait & can maybe give you some helpful info. Proper pest identification is always important no matter if the pest is an insect, plant or vertebrate. It saves money you might have spent on a product that wouldn't have worked.

A funny ant story-Hubby & I spent a year on the dry side of the Big Island. The tap water was yucky & unless it aged overnight Chuck wouldn't make his own coffee & wasted money at Starbucks. So I'd fill the coffee maker's reservoir before I went to bed & then he would drink the coffee the next morning. This worked great for a while. But Kona had these super tiny little ants called Crazy Ants because they never walked in a straight line but zig-zagged. (looked like it might have been a foraging behavior) Then these ants started drowning in the coffee maker & the coffee tasted bad again. I thought they might be thirsty so I followed the trail back across the counter & down to the floor. I intercepted the trail along the baseboard with little bottle caps of water with cottonballs in them to keep the ants from drowning. As long as I remembered to keep the caps full the teensy little Crazy Ants didn't bother to climb all the way up the cabinet, across the counter & into the coffeemaker's reservoir! If I forgot to keep my end of the bargain Chuck got ant flavored coffee the next morning. Understanding the pest you're dealing with can sometimes be really helpful.


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## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

Thanks lol


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

Ground cinnamon can be used as a repellant. It doesn't kill the ants, but they don't like it. If the ants in the goat pen are coming into the pen from outside the pen, you could use the cinnamon around the outside perimeter of the pen in an unbroken line. (Costco has big containers of cinnamon or you could try the Dollar Store.) Unfortunately it would have to be refreshed after a rain or reapplied when the odor wears out. I have some ants in the area where I put a beehive, and I sprinkled the cinnamon all around the base of the hive. It does help.

I heard that cinnamon was used, at least at one time, around the perimeter of a large commercial butterfly exhibit to keep the ants out.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

goathiker said:


> Well, the way I do it involves a shot gun, a can of diesel, and fire :lol:


Would a pistol work? So whaddya do? Spray diesel. ignite, watch the buggers run & blast em as they escape??:wahoo:


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## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

nancy d said:


> Would a pistol work? So whaddya do? Spray diesel. ignite, watch the buggers run & blast em as they escape??:wahoo:


Lol


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## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

Any other ant killers?


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## olfart (Mar 7, 2013)

I don't know what kind of ants you have, but here in Texas we have fireants. I use Amdro with a Whirlybird spreader, and that scatters it enough that the goats are not likely to eat enough to hurt them.

On occasion I've used a steel tube attached to a can of ant spray and inserted it into the mound nice and deep before blasting the liquid into the mound. That usually gets the queen and destroys the mound right NOW, not in a couple of weeks like typical baits do.

That might not be a good plan if you have a well nearby.


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## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

olfart said:


> I don't know what kind of ants you have, but here in Texas we have fireants. I use Amdro with a Whirlybird spreader, and that scatters it enough that the goats are not likely to eat enough to hurt them.
> 
> On occasion I've used a steel tube attached to a can of ant spray and inserted it into the mound nice and deep before blasting the liquid into the mound. That usually gets the queen and destroys the mound right NOW, not in a couple of weeks like typical baits do.
> 
> That might not be a good plan if you have a well nearby.


We have a well right by our house  thanks though. Any advice helps


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Did you find the nest yet? You can always try pouring lots of boiling water into the nest if you're worried about toxins. Also, exterminators give free estimates, which includes identifying the pest accurately. When we had carpenter ants they didn't even need to spray-they had special bait stations with really hard covers. They have a lot more pesticides available for use than you could buy anywhere yourself, & they're not always more dangerous.


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## CinKozaFarm (Apr 13, 2017)

In GA we have 3 types of fire ants...red with 1 queen, black with many queens and a hybrid....red heads with black thoraxes and multiple queens....this makes it a real challenge to eliminate. The reds usually kill neighboring mounds. The blacks are quite tolerant of neighbors and not as aggressive. The hybrids are very aggressive but have a tolerance to neighboring hives...so there are more hives in a smaller area. Spring seems to be the time they migrate the most. I have a few tree stumps in the pen with my bucklings and a mound that I have been treating for the last 7 years is active again. I put the kids in another pen and sprinkled the mound with Amdro. I irritated the mound just enough to make them cover up the Amdro. 

I have to do a large area broadcast every spring then address the large mounds individually. I also power blast the larger mounds. Do it enough, and the ants will die. I also use a fly spray this is essential oil based and safe to use on dogs and cats. After reading the links posted in another thread, I will try this fly spray on my mounds within the buckling enclosure.


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## Joe L. (Nov 22, 2021)

Crazy4Goats said:


> Thanks  Any more ideas would be helpful too. I need any tricks lol


Did you find any solutions?
I know grits kill ants but you have to do I on a dry day with no rain in the near future. If they get wet before the ants eat them they don't expand and the ants don't explode. Don't use alot so your goats don't try to eat it.


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## alwaystj9 (Apr 10, 2019)

You would do best finding out what kind of ants you have. Our fire ants down here are becoming very pesticide resistant.
Targeting the species will be more effective and safer.


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

I put Amdro out at night when the goats are in their night pen, it works great on red and fire ants Especially on their mounds. It’s safe and I’ve never had a problem with any of the critters getting sick from it. I get it at Home Depot.


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## alwaystj9 (Apr 10, 2019)

I 've used Amdro with nothing apparently getting sick but as it's corn based, my chickens will gobble it up. I have to watch where I use it. I've lately been using
Bengal Fire Ant Killer, it's a white powder so I can see where I put it. None work instantly, though, and all need to be applied during dry weather.


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## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

glndg said:


> You could try food grade diatomaceous earth. It's a fine powder, and you can sprinkle it anywhere the ants are. Your goats will probably try to eat it if it's in a pile.


This is what I use. Cover the mounds and any places they walk and in a couple of days they all dry out and are dead around here.


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## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

goathiker said:


> Well, the way I do it involves a shot gun, a can of diesel, and fire :lol:


Are you related to my dad? Pretty sure that's his answers for everything. Yellow jacket nest in the ground, ants and waspers etc. Actually his is gas and not diesel. Diesel takes alot to get burning lol.


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## Lil Boogie (Mar 24, 2021)

DDFN said:


> Are you related to my dad? Pretty sure that's his answers for everything. Yellow jacket nest in the ground, ants and waspers etc. Actually his is gas and not diesel. Diesel takes alot to get burning lol.


You made me think this was a new thread.....how dare you LOL😆😆. And yeah...sounds like my dad too lol...


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## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

Lil Boogie said:


> You made me think this was a new thread.....how dare you LOL😆😆. And yeah...sounds like my dad too lol...


Sorry not a new thread. Lol dad's are the best aren't they!


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## Lil Boogie (Mar 24, 2021)

DDFN said:


> Sorry not a new thread. Lol dad's are the best aren't they!


Its Okie lol... And yes they are!!😆😆😆😆


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