If there is anything that makes me cringe and shake my head in disbelief, it’s seeing school and community officials (or parents!) sprinkling toxic fire ant killer on lawns, playgrounds and other recreational areas.
Seriously?
Why would you EVER sprinkle poison where children run and play, kicking up pesticide-laden dust to breathe, track into the house, get on their skin and otherwise absorb into their growing bodies? You don’t necessarily have to eat a chemical to experience significant and negative biological exposure. Toxic pesticide powder and granules have no business being sprinkled anywhere near areas where children will be playing! Even adults would be well advised to steer clear.
Unfortunately, our modern society seems obsessed with convenience and quick fixes, rarely taking the time to stop and think about the long term consequences of a given action or activity.
If the stuff is sold at Home Depot or used on school playgrounds, it must be safe, right?
Wrong.
Let’s take a look at the active ingredient of the most popular fire ant killer brands on the market: Hydramethylnon.
Conveniently, the other 99% of the ingredients are unlabeled for these products.
Hydramethylnon is an organic compound commonly used as an insecticide for cockroaches and ants. It is in many popular brands of fire ant killer including Amdro, Combat, Blatex, Cyaforce, Cyclon, Faslane, Grant’s, Impact, Matox, Maxforce, Pyramdron, Siege, and Wipeout.
Hydramethylnon Dangers
According to the National Pesticide Information Center, the EPA has classified hydramethylnon as a possible (group C) human carcinogen due to the development of tumors of the uterus, adrenals, and lungs in rats. This classification means that, although hydramethylnon has been shown to cause cancer in one strain or sex of a laboratory animal, there is inadequate or no evidence that it may cause cancer in humans.
Besides the development of cancerous tumors, here are some of the negative reproductive effects when rats were exposed to hydramethylnon which is commonly found as the active ingredient in commercial fire ant killer:
- Male rats dosed with 200 and 400 ppm hydramethylnon over the course of two generations were less inclined to mate, and evidence of testicular degeneration occurred at all but the lowest dose. Hydramethylnon primarily affects the testes. Rats exposed to high levels of hydramethylnon may have prostate atrophy, testicular degeneration, and germ cell damage. Exposures of this magnitude may also result in small, soft testes of reduced weight.
- Fewer females became pregnant with implantation rates reduced.
The Fluoride Action Network Pesticide Project lists hydramethylnon as a possible human carcinogen and endocrine disruptor with the potential to be an environmental contributor to the development of cancer.
Organs affected include:
- Kidney
- Blood
- Bone
- Lungs
- Adrenals
- Testicles
- Thymus Glank
- Uterus
Opt-out of Pesticide-Based Red Ant Bait
While the EPA, local school administrators, and your local hardware store seem to think this stuff is harmless, as a mother attempting to raise healthy children who hope to have grandchildren one day, I will opt out, thank you very much.
Natural Fire Ant Killer That Works!
What is even more shocking than the liberal and mindless use of insecticides for fire ant eradication purposes is that these critters are so easy and cheap to control naturally!
And, when I say cheap, I mean it. How does free sound to you?
Here’s how I have controlled fire ants for the over two decades I’ve lived on our property in Central Florida, a place notorious for intractable fire ant problems.
I simply heat up a tea kettle full of boiling water and slowly pour it down the hole in the fire ant mound. That’s it! You don’t even need ant bait!
Not only will you kill the queen (she can’t get away quick enough from the boiling water coursing through the mound), but you pretty much kill every single ant in the mound as well.
Sometimes you will need a repeat treatment within a day or two, but usually, a single tea kettle full of boiling water will do the trick to eliminate even a large, thriving mound of fire ants.
The key is to make sure the ants on and around the mound are completely relaxed and undisturbed before you start pouring in the boiling water. If they are upset or anxious in any way, the queen will be long gone by the time you start the treatment.
Walking up slowly and quietly to the mound is the way to go. Don’t do this after your kids have been playing in the yard for a while, as the ants will already be quite distressed from the commotion.
Early morning works very well for this natural fire ant treatment in my experience.
Below is a video I filmed of me getting rid of a fire ant mound right near our driveway. Take a look and see if this method of fire ant removal might work for you too. It’s certainly worth a shot.
For those of you who may ask why I don’t use diatomaceous earth (source), the reason is simple. DE doesn’t work very well for fire ants in my experience.
You will feel good knowing that your children run and play in a yard around your home that is completely chemical free with nothing that can harm them … only help their immunity with exposure to good, “clean”, probiotic-filled dirt untainted by health disrupting pesticides.
More Information on Controlling Pests
Natural Carpenter Ants Removal
Steps to Remove a Tick Safely and Easily
Nontoxic Pest Control Ideas that Work
Bed Bug Removal Techniques
Fast and Effective Fly Repellent
Attracting and Using Ladybugs for Garden Pest Control
How to Resolve a Flea Infestation Naturally
Quick and Easy Homemade Fly Trap
Spider Repellent Guaranteed to Work
Fast Acting Mosquito Bite Remedy That’s Probably Already in Your Kitchen
Tammy
I like this method. Plus, then you can sell the remaining ant hill sculpture for $4000+… not bad for a few minutes work. LOL nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2013/12/fire-ant_colony_molten_aluminu.html
Beth
This has worked for us as well, with just one pot of boiling water. However, it also killed the grass (St Augustine grass) about 3 feet in all directions from the mound. So we had to put in new sod for that area. Probably worth it though for fire ants, but just a fair warning. 🙂
Rachel
Do you know a fix for centipedes? We’ve been inundated with them for the last several years. No one seems to have a way to get rid of them.
Caitie
We do the same thing at our house, although we must have very resilient ants. The last few hills took at least half a dozen stock pot’s full of boiling water! I still think it’s worth the time and effort not to poison your family 🙂
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Wow, your ants are seriously tough! I wonder what species they are? Where do you live?
Ekologiczna
You are THE Thinking Mom I ADORE! All moms in US – take an example!
Sarah
That’s amazing how simple it is to get rid of fire ants! I wish it were so easy for cockroaches/palmetto bugs. I live in Atlanta and recently moved to a new apartment. Since I moved in, I have been trying to address a bug problem. Will you consider writing a post about how to naturally get rid of cockroaches? I would love to hear an effective way to do so!
I tried to go the natural route using diatomaceous earth, but I still ended up seeing cockroaches. It isn’t a huge bug problem, but I was seeing 1-2 a week right in my kitchen of all places! I ended up using the exterminating services offered at my apartment complex and that has seemed to do the trick. I really didn’t want to give into the poison route, but I didn’t know what else to do. I keep my kitchen spotless all the time to prevent bugs from being attracted, but I didn’t know how else to deal with it.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
My recipe for homemade roach cookies is in this post. They work fantastic and I’ve used nothing else for many many years. Whatever you do, don’t let a pest control person in your home to spray! Whatever good you are doing in the kitchen with quality meals can be undone by this type of chemical exposure to your family. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/non-toxic-pest-control-ideas-that-work/
James
I put roahproof in my cabinets top[shelf and bottom shelf and haven’t had roaches since
Vicki
For years I have used Harris Roach Tablets and I have not seen a roach in my home since. I throw them in the cabinets, under appliances, in closets, etc. Cheap and easy peasy. My friend got a bad infestation of German roaches in her vehicle and she used these tablets and got rid of all of them!
zoe
This is how I’ve gotten ride of ant nests for years. It’s fast, effective and even on a huge ant hill won’t take more than a couple applications!
Jude H
Thank you so much. I love this site.
Emily
Well I’m pretty sad I didn’t see this a week ago! I have tried several natural remedies to get rid of our fire ants in Texas and after two bad bite episodes with our little girl we sadly used pesticides to get rid of them! I will try this next time! Thanks for the video.
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Yes, fire ant bites are bad! I’ve been bitten so many times over the years, I have little reaction anymore though! But, I do get rid of the piles anyway.
Sara
I do the same thing Sarah! It was actually a total random guess attempt on my part and it totally worked. One persisent bunch needed 3 dousings…but 1 or 2 usually work. I had Terminix come out and they wanted to charge me $150…not to mention douse my yard with pesticides. Boiling water – no one can get rich from that!
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Indeed. If there’s no money to be made, the only way a great idea spreads is via word of mouth. Or, a personal blog 🙂