I have a compost pile, want worms, but have....FIREANTS!!!!!

[Mike Firesmith]

Hi Everyone!

I live in South Georgia, USA, the perfect place to grow worms. I started a compost pile a year ago, and only recently did it dawn on me that worms might be the way to go. The problem is the fireants. I don't want to posion them because that defeats the purpose of going green. So how to I get rid of them?

Take Care,
Mike

[Goran]

Don´t worry,your worms won´t go away if they have enough food. As the ants come,so they will desapeare. Try to water more,ants don´t like it.

[Mike Firesmith]

Hi Goran!

Thanks for the reply, and it makes perfect sense that ants do not like water, but are you familar with fire ants? They are very bad news down here in South Georgia, and incredibly hard to get rid of in the best of times. Still, I'll try your water torture of them, and we'll see if water can put out the fire ants!

Thanks,
Mike

[Gingerbread Person]

Would indoor composting help? Maybe you can pick up some of that compost from outside and transfer it to a bin inside... heap lots of paper shreds on top. Hope this helps!

[Mike Firesmith]

Well, teh pile is plenty big because it's been growing for a year or so now. Indoors might not work. Besides, what will I do if the ants follow the pile??????

[Eve]

You could sprinkling Diatomaceous Earth onto the compost pile. It will get rid of all the bugs in the pile including the fire ants.

Diatomaceous Earth is crushed Diatoms, ( microscopic water bugs ) the crushed shells have sharp little edges that scratch the wax coating on insects. The bugs are not able to heal the scratches and dehydrate to death. It is perfectly safe for worms and people. Don't get the stuff for fish tanks it is processed to take the sharp edges off so it wont work.

Diatomaceous Earth even comes in food grade. It is used to control insects in all kinds of environments from attics to keeping bugs out of stored grain. You probably eat it every day without knowing it. Its safe and stable and doesn't need to be reapplied.

It can sometimes be found in feed stores. If you cant find it locally do a google search its easy to find on the internet. I paid 12 bucks for 5 pounds. I have loads left over so if you only have the one pile to worry about go for a smaller container.

[Mike Firesmith]

YAY EVE!!!!

I've got to turn the pile tomorrow, and I'll see if I can't get some of this Diatomaceous Earth!

[Gingerbread Person]

Eve rocks. XD

[Jason]

DE is sold with a lot of different labels. Sometimes it's sold as a specific bug killer (ants, earwigs, etc.). Often times these are just DE with an attractant added. I've bought earwig killer this way. You can get it at any good garden center, and because it's labeled different ways, I've had people look at me like I was speaking Chinese when I asked for Diatomaceous Earth only to find that the did indeed have it in stock. Just check the labels of various powders and look for as close to 100% DE as you can get.

It works great on any critter with an exoskeleton and from what I understand it's harmless to the worms. It's definitely harmless to humans and large pets, unless you inhale too much of it...

[Mike Firesmith]

Jason,

I wonder if this has been tried before. I certainly have never heard of it. Along with the suggestion to keep the pile wetter, this might just do the trick. We're due for a cold snap in the next couple of days so the fire ants might get a nasty surprise or two compliments of this thread!

[Scott Dickens]

Mike it would be great if you could keep us posted on how well the DE works. I'm in NC we also have the dreaded FIRE ANT and I'm going to be moving my worms out in the spring. But I have not even though about the ants getting into the pile. I wish you the best of luck on stopping the Devil ants and I hope I can learn from what you find out. If you do get them out of your pile there in a woman in Lake Norman NC that does a lot of outdoor worming and she said she puts a mote around her piles and this keeps out unwanted guest I don't have that kind of space be if you do this might work. I'm not sure how wide this is but with her living on the lake I think she has just dug a trench from the lake then around her piles. I hope to go down and see it some time.
Best of luck
Scott

[Mike Firesmith]

Hi Scott!

A moat is out of the question for me because I have a water mutt but that would do the trick. As soon as I can declare the pile Fire Ant Free, I'm going to get worms, and from that point it will be Worm Blog! But the Devil, as they say, is in the details.

I'm certainly going to try to force them out with water and DE.


Keep tuned!

[Goran]

That DE is something new for me,very interesting. Thank God,we don´t have fireants here in Europe,or they are known under some other name.Good luck!