Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was reading your post down below. I ocassionally have problems with these vile creatures(the fire ants of course the indigenous ones are usually fine except occasionally the wood ants.)Being a transplanted Texan I naturally hate fire ants and take pleasure in killing them (a genetic trait of all Texans) The best way to deal with them is to use bait poisons. I hate to say that, as I dislike pesticides but this really the only effective way to deal with them. You need to be careful with the baits. DO NOT USE THEM IN THE CAGE!!! find the mound(s) if possible and apply the bait there otherwise place a small amount of bait (1/2 tbsp usually does the job) outside the cage. Apply at night on a night it won't rain and it should be gone by morning repeat this again a week later and keep repeating until bait is nolonger taken. I have had good luck with amdro. There are a couple of other brands out there including a boric acid-based bait which is more enviromentally friendly than most others. I can never remember the brnd name but the "Garden Rebel" on WDBO (sat and sun mornings. I did notice you were from CFL didn't I? if not...soory my bad)can give you the brand name as he advertises it. Take this pest seriously they can kill.

Thank you for your response. This is actually what I've been doing to try and combat the "deamon spawn" its working alittle, I still notice ants in the cages...2 in particular but the numbers are ALOT less, and I have not noticed anymore bites on my chameleons.

I would still like to find this bugstop, Im gonna go on a scavanger hunt tomarrow to find some.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther
1.1 Ambilobe Panther

Hi Guys,

I really do feel for your problem and understand that it can be a real drawback out where you live. I must implore you though not to use these chemicals you speak of. Yes, fire ants are a problem and numerous, and from what I understand becomming somewhat of a plague. But none the less, using chemicals etc is not the way to go. There are so many animals that thrive on the consumption of these ants and so many other species that have come to rely on "there numerous amounts" to survive.

There are other ways of dealing with them.

Raising your cage off the ground,
Smeer some vinegar around the base of the cage/enclosure,
Use glossy tape around the base of the cage.

Obviously I understand that is easy for me to sit back and point the finger, as I am not the one with the problem. But killing them should be the last thing on the list.

Just my 2 cents,

Rene Imming.

please name one animal that eats red ants in FL...unless it is a mamal I will continue to kill these ants with bait, they are harming my chameleons and I will not stand back and watch this happen.

My cages are 1 foot off the ground..the ants climb up the legs. I've tried vinager, did not phase them. Tape..thats a joke to the ants...I've watched them overcome that.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther
1.1 Ambilobe Panther

Hiya,

In Fl the red ant knows the following predators,

Some birds species ( I am currently looking there names up)
Several species of slow worms,
Several species of frogs and toads,
Several species of bats that feed on the winged males and females during breeding season.

I sensed some hostility in your reply?? If there is a way around this, surely you would be willing to take the neccesary steps to make it happen. Instead of killing colonies of ants and robbing native creatures of there food source. You can't seriously tell me that your bait traps will not kill native ant species as well as the infamouse red or fire ant. If you can't get around this, why not take your animals indoors. I keep and breed the following species indoors:

Oustaleti's,
Verrucosus,
Pardalis (ambanja red, sambava)
Melleri's,
Calyptratus.

Rene Imming.

I just wanted to add that I am not in to all the holier than thou crap. No offence meant in anyway. I just wanted you to think twice before taking action.

Rene Imming.

The "red ants" we are reffering to is the fire ant (solanaspis inicta) this is a non-indigenous pest and there is really not anything that preys on them in fact it is usually the other way around. There are many documented studies of fire ants hurting the populations of historically indigenous animals(phrynasoma cornutum-theTexas horned toad comes to mind although there are other pressures on this species.) There are also several well documented cases of human related deaths attributed to fire ants including two cases here in Fla within the past few years. Furthermore the type of poisoning I am refering to is using bait-type pesticides applied directly to the mound or to areas the ants are know to frequent. This is on of the least invasive, and most effective methods known. I believe I mentioned in my post to try this in the evening hours when it is not raining as well. This minimizes the possibility of accidental ingestion by other animals (which I have never observed anyway and I monitor my ant poisonings closely) or the problem of pesticide drift. I also mentioned the availability of a boric acid based bait which is as close to organic fire ant control possible short of the boiling water method which is not always effective and sometimes causes unwanted casualties. I understand your oppossition to using pesticides I dislike them myself. So much that I have actuall chased mosquito-control trucks away from my property while weilding a peice of 2x4 lumber(Bet you ain't tried that one you hippie-ha-ha)I have also work at an organic plant nursery here in Fla. and can tell you I would never buy a plant from them as they are the biggest fire ant-time-bomb I have ever seen. The organic methods don't seem to work well yet. Sometimes you just need to balance between organic living and using a necessary evil to erradicate an invasive pest.

Hiya,

Thanks for the elaborate reply. Like I said, I really do feel for the people with this problem and agree that sometimes drastic situations call for drastic measures. And when it comes to our chameleons being atacked then of course action must be taken. I just can't believe that there are no know predators to these guys. I went on an information search after reading your post and came up with the species that I mentioned in my previous post. There are most certainly predators of the fire ants around.
I just wanted to point out, that these guys have thrived because of mans mistakes and are now being killed for it aswell.
Anyway, I was just venting my own opinion about this. Everyone has to do what they see fit. You will never hear me tell someone what to do. To each his own.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and I hope it works out.

Best regards,

Rene Imming.