This may seem like a trivial topic for a blog if you live in an area that is free of these vicious little insects but if you have ever stepped into a mound just as it is building, you will strip off every item of clothing you have to get them off your feet or legs. I usually get attacked when I am gardening. You are digging a hole in the ground to plant a flower and all of a sudden your hands are on fire...there was no mound above the ground. Quickly, I will run into the house for my Adolph's meat tenderizer...you can make a paste and apply. Most times it helps. If not treated, within several hours you will have a little white top pimple that really burns. They often leave a little scar.
I was walking around an empty house that I have listed, and I knew summer is coming when I spotted several small mounds around the yard. They can quickly grow if left untreated. Usually, you sprinkle and that chases them to another part of the yard. Boiling water doesn't work; cornmeal/grits on the mound doesn't work; nor does pouring gasoline/turpentine into the hole and setting it on fire but I did discover something that does work.
Last summer, I found a bag of granules that you apply once during the season to the whole yard. It is supposed to be safe for pets and children. I ignored that because my dogs eat grass so I treated the yard when I knew I would be out of town for a few days. This year, I will apply just before a rain so it will dissolve before dogs are allowed in the yard again. It worked great; I treated my neighbors' vacant lot because once I did my yard, the ants would build right up to my property line but would not cross into my yard. It was one of the very few products that I highly recommend. A few different companies make the product so I am not going to mention the name of the one I used. Just pick one that says safe and will protect your yard for several months.
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