# Ant control, fipronil, carbyril, pyrethrins?



## FordGuy (Jul 10, 2005)

Over and Out, Sevin, and Ortho brands all have different active ingredients, which one is the best? I also wonder which one is least likely to be takin up by bees if broadcast in granular form near the hives?


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## TwT (Aug 5, 2004)

I haven't had any luck with all those you poasted , I use Triazicide from home depot of lowes, you mix it in a 2 gallon sprayer and it has worked fine for me, you just need to spray the supports holding your hive, like blocks in my case, 

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=201143-316-201143&lpage=none


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## TX Ashurst (May 31, 2005)

*< fipronil, carbyril, pyrethrins?* >

Over and Out works great for fireants and lasts for a full year, but I haven't seen that it does much against other species of ants. It takes at least 2 weeks before you see any results, so it is tempting to use something else. But patience pays off. I don't think the bees bother it.

Pyrethrins are very fast acting, but short-lived. They are best for knockdown of things like wasps, not for long-term control of ants.

Carbaryl has been around for a long time, but I hate having that strong of a chem. near my hives, home, lawn, or me.

Personally, I like simple baits. A small amount of Boric acid (incl. Borax) missed into some sweetener (like thinned jam, or unthinned fruit juice) for sugar-liking ants, or the same mixed into some mashed drone larva (I usually do this when checking for Varroa) thinned with water for the meat-eating ants. I put a dollop of bait on a jar lid or some other small, flat container and leave it open in a shady, cool place away from the hives. For use near bees You can drill some 1/8" holes in a small plastic container or foil dish and put it under the hive where it won't get rained away too quickly and bees are unlikely to forage. The sweet bait works for a week or so, but the meat one is only good for about a day. Either way, it seems to do a number on the ants as they pack it back to their colony and feed it to queen/larvae/other ants before they get sick.


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## Jack21222 (May 29, 2007)

Fipronil works wonders for termites and fleas, and in very large quantities works for ants... But I'm not so sure about little ant stations. The most effective ant baits I've seen had some form of boric acid. 

The 388B ant gel bait that I use at work works better than the Maxforce ant bait that uses Fipronil. 388B uses 5.4% Borax as its active ingredient.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

My best luck is this:

1 part water
1 part borax
1 part cheap grape jelly

Add a little water every day until the ants have eaten it all or there are no more ants coming for it.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

I asked my friends at the local pest company that refers swarms to ne about some of the pesticides they use. I was delighted to find that they are more pro honeybee than I ever imagined.

I asked about Fipronil, 
He said that ‘if a bee tracks thru it, he can take it back and it can kill an entire colony.’

He refuses to use the stuff in his company and stated that it never should have been approved in the USA after the troubles with honeybees and fipronil in Europe.
I would place fipronil as the most dangerous to honeybees.

Seven is highly toxic to honeybees also.


Joe Waggle ~ Derry, PA 
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' 
FeralBeeProject.com


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## wdcrkapry205 (Feb 11, 2010)

This is what some people are baiting their beetle barns with. All the literature plainly says that this roach bait allows time for the pest to track this poison back to it's nest where it defecates the poison all around thus killing it's buddies (they eat the feces then the dead friend), sounds great doesn't it. I have even seen where people are using this with their honey supers on. I'm sure most people know this already, but maybe this will help someone considering this treatment.


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

That may very well happen with roaches but it doesn't work that way with beetles. The beetles die in the trap, no matter whether a Beetle Barn or a CD case or the plastic signboard traps. We've had poor results with the boric acid, zero results with oil bath traps and great results with the MaxForce in 3 different types of traps. We normally have to empty our traps at every hive inspection and we're finding 50-100 dead beetles in each Beetle Barn, at least 2 barns per hive. It's purely a choice down here; you can have bees or you can farm beetles, I prefer the bees.


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## Fl_Beak (May 9, 2010)

*fish stix-* adding red wine vinegar to the oil seems to up the catch rate on the oil traps, IME. Maybe oil:vinegar 3:1


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## wdcrkapry205 (Feb 11, 2010)

Fish,
Thank you for your comments. I can appreciate your situation, mine is nowhere near as bad as yours in Fla. I am envious of your floral sources but not your pest problems. Yes, the traps are full of dead beetles but how many more could have fed and left? That is my concern. I hope more people will provide more feedback about their experiences with this treatment and also boric acid.


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## MichaelShantz (May 9, 2010)

I like the Terro ant baits. It has borax that the ants take back to their colony. I put it right beside the hive and the bees never touch it. However, by far the best ant prevention method, for me, has been to put the hives on 4 posts that sit in little pots with vegetable oil in them. Each little pot has an old CD on top of the post that prevents bees getting in the oil. Shazzam, no more ant problem. These ants are Argentine.


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## Freon11 (Aug 18, 2009)

I have been using raid bait stations with great success as far as a non chemical approach I have begun to experiment with permaguard diatomatious earth.


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## Bsweet (Apr 9, 2010)

Try plain old ground cinnamon sprikled around the hive on the ground or edges of the bottom board. works for me


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

My Beekeeper friend suggested this and it works:
here is that grease too - motorbike shops that are stockists of belray brand 
should have it
http://www.belray.com/media.fsp?id=1327
Any waterproof grease would do. ants will not cross it and bees will not touch it...and you don't need to buy any potentially harmful chemicals.


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## ccar2000 (Aug 9, 2009)

Diatomaceous Earth works well for me too!


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## Bob'sBees (Aug 13, 2010)

MichaelShantz said:


> I like the Terro ant baits.


Anytime we get a mass of ants in the house, usually in the spring and later in the summer we put out one or two Terro traps and the ants are gone within two days. Not a sign of them anywhere. Stuff works awesome.


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