Yeast and baking soda?

[KeriFord]

Are both of these okay in the garden as powders. I've been fighting fire ants and I'm losing. And tired of getting stung. Kid is allergic, so I'm not even letting him around the garden right now

Can't find 100% DE. Only bag I found has other junk in it.

They just walk right over garlic and mint. And build on it too.

Vinegar works great, but can't pour that on my plants and they're living in my beds. Read boiling water will kill plants too.

Everyday I screw with their beds. Poke it, water them out, ect. Today's bed is 4 times bigger.

I don't have any borax to try that , but I saw to mix 50/50 of powder sugar and baking soda. Then add a bit of yeast. About 30% size of sugar/soda.

Baking soda I see is okay, but that's when mixed with water. Didn't see much on yeast. Thoughts?

I can put the mix next to the beds, but what about when the ants carry it in anyway?

They're mostly in my potatoes and strawberries. A few by cukes. I see them crawling in other places but they're not setting up house.

ETA: forgot to mention. I have worms I'd like to keep alive

[rainbowgardener]

We've had a few fire ants threads this spring. Type fire ants in to the Google Custom Search box above (it searches here, not the web) to find them.

I have heard of baking soda as a deterrent to them, might make them move to a different spot, but doesn't kill them. I can't imagine the yeast doing them any harm and looking on line turned up nothing about it. It might be one of those things like club soda, where someone thought it would give off enough CO2 to smother them. Not so.
The baking soda made into a paste is a good remedy for the bites.

Borax is readily available in your grocery store laundry section (Twenty Mule Team Borax) and is reputed effective mixed with a bait. Here's a fire ant control article:

https://www.toxicfreenc.org/informed/pdf ... ssheet.pdf

The one that seems to have the most scientific validation is eucalyptus oil or citrus oil mixed with a little dish soap.

[KeriFord]

thank you! I did a search on them in the forums a while back and found a few things that I've tried. I'll check again to see if there's anything new.

I don't mind trying the borax, but I live out in the country. I won't be in town until the end of the week.

I know I have dish soap! I'll see if I have an oil to add. thanks!

[valley]

Let us know what does the job. Thanks

[KeriFord]

Let us know what does the job. Thanks

baking soda/yeast/powder sugar is working! went out there today and where they have just moved in, they were almost all gone. I mean GONE. I saw a stray or two. normally if I would even bump the side of the raised bed, or slightly disturb the dirt, they'd come out by the 100s.

I have potatoes at one end, strawberries at the other. I was running short on the mix by the time I reached strawberries, so the ones there didn't seem as affected. I mixed up some more and dumped them in tonight.

I also squirted in some peroxide for good measure around the potatoes.

if this doesn't work, I'm buying 10lbs of sugar, and dumping it away from the garden and see if they'll relocate so I can kill with the deadly stuff. possibly including soaking them in gas and burning them.