I Don't Like Them in Any Language

The Dadgum Fourmi or Fromille.  That's how you say ant in French or Cajun French.  No matter what language, this is a nuisance like no other. Right now, our yard and our pasture is full of them.  They build huge mounds that pop up all over the place.  The first time it rains, they pack up and move to higher ground.  That usually means they move into the round bales of hay.  When I go to roll them out into the pasture, the fire ant (fromille) eat me alive. 

Supposedly, they arrived from Brazil on a ship docked in Mobile, Alabama and quickly spread throughout the southeast.  These immigrants are not welcome.  Perhaps we should import some anteaters!

Fire Ant Mound (or "ant pile")

The ant piles are in all sizes.  For perspective, that is a size 10 Croc sitting beside an average ant pile in our yard.  The ones in the pasture are much bigger.

Now, I'll readily admit, I'm not real neighborly to the fromille.  I stomp on every pile I see.  It doesn't really do anything to hurt them, but it makes me feel better - unless they get on my boots, climb up my leg and bit my ankles.

Rebuild, will you?

The ants are angry.  They mobilize to attack, protect their eggs, and begin to rebuild.  They are aggressive and relentless.

Knocking down the mound

If you look closely, you can see the white eggs in the egg chamber.  These eggs will hatch shortly, birthing more vicious critters that dot our landscape.

I've seen a You Tube video one time of some enterprising and entrepreneurial guys that put a lot of aluminum in a furnace and heated it until it melted.  Once super-heated and in liquid form, they poured it over a fire ant pile.  The liquid aluminum flowed down into the tunnels beneath the mound, filling every chamber, every tunnel, every hole.  They then allowed it to cool and harden.  Using shovels, they dug it all up and sprayed it down with a water hose until nothing remained but the "ant mound art work."  Here is an example:

Image Credit

Of course, I've never done that.  I'm not that creative.  I merely stomp their mounds.  I also went to Tractor Supply, purchased some Ortho Ant Killer for $20-something bucks and spent the time from 6 pm to 7:30 killing ants.  Unfortunately, that didn't even kill half of them in the yard.  I loathe those dadgum fromille!