A natural, safe fire ant control that WORKS

Most birds have learned, over the years, to eat ants. But not imported fire

ants – which are a relatively recent introduction to Texas. Maybe in a 15 or 20 generations, birds will learn how to get rid of ("eat") them. For now, though, I control fire ants by soaking the mound thoroughly with a liquid compost solution. I’m certainly no entomologist, but this homemade, non-poisonous solution works for me.  

I use a mixture of 40% orange oil, 40% compost tea and 20% liquid horticultural molasses (mixed thoroughly).  Then I mix about a half cup of this with one gallon of water, and saturate the whole fire ant mound with it (or a part of the mixture, depending on the size of the mound).  The ingredients cost considerably less than the poisonous stuff you buy in a store, and it works.

It doesn't poison them; it dissolves their exoskeleton. It takes about half an hour before the fire ants have all met their maker. Several days later I’ll add beneficial nematodes to the soil, to control them long term.

 

Black-chinned Hummingbirds

Hungry Hummingbirds     Hummingbirds have an extremely high rate of metabolism, and need to maintain their energy throughout the day. So they feed about 5 to 8 times per day.  When feeding, they actually lap nectar with tongues that are almost twice as long as their beaks (they don’t suck it). They lap incredibly fast - about 13 times per second.