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Hi,
Been in our new house in Atenas for about a week now we have a lot of ants, mostly on the patio and a variety of other bugs (mostly on our patios), we saw our first Scorpion (not in the house), Should we spray or get a exterminator, I’m not sure if we should kill the ants or not as they carry off other bugs. I know for ants we need to get the pallets to kill the queen. Thanks for Your advise
If you’re facing leaf-cutter ants, you definitely need to kill them off or they’ll destroy your ornamental plants. You’ll know by the fact that they’re moving in a line and, in one direction, carrying pieces of leaves. Follow them back to their nest (there will likely be more than one opening in the ground) and treat the area with the Mirex pellets (which they’ll take down into the colony) or Lorsban powder from a powder pump sprayer. Both Mirex and Lorsban are very toxic, so don’t let either contact your own skin and don’t breathe the powder.
If these are not leaf-cutter ants, find their nest and pour Dawn dishwashing liquid into it liberally. Other brands might work but I don’t know.
It’s unlikely that you’ll eliminate the local scorpion population, so learn to live with them. Shake out your shoes before putting them on. Don’t reach into any dark corners or under anything ’til you’ve looked first.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]treat the area with the Mirex pellets (which they’ll take down into the colony) or Lorsban powder from a powser pump sprayer. [/quote]
Where can you purchase these products? I am particularly interested in the Mirex.
We have ant highways over here sonetimes as much as 3 inches wide.
Here in Grecia, you can buy Mirex pellets at Coope Victoria and the agricultural supply place downtown. Munoz y Nana, the True Value Hardware store in San Pedro might be a source.
You could also check local veterinarians/pet shops. Some of them carry a limited supply of agricultural products and supplies.
[b]NOTE:[/b] Mirex is [u]very toxic[/u]. The label says there is no antidote. So wear rubber gloves and don’t breathe the dust! Same for Lorsban.
Are the “ant highways” being a problem? If these are migrating colonies, it might be better to just let ’em pass by. We’ve had ant migrations that lasted for several hours. It was pretty spectacular, but nothing bad happened.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Are the “ant highways” being a problem? If these are migrating colonies, it might be better to just let ’em pass by. We’ve had ant migrations that lasted for several hours. It was pretty spectacular, but nothing bad happened.[/quote]
No they are locals building a city I think. We have discovered several hills scattered around the property.
Thanks for the help. That gives me an idea where to look.
first of all, it’s the beginning of the rainy season and all those bugs that were hibernating are now active. i probably swept 100 beetles off my terrace today. they get in the house and i don’t even know how. worm-like things have crawled out of my drains. the flies are back and swarming. it’s just that time of year and the worst of it is over by mid june. then there are the bufos — the ones the size of a chihuahua that launch themselves at my glass doors trying to get in. there are the flying things that are about an inch wide that fly slow motion and crash into the windows or walls. the fireflies are also back, as are the gigantic moths. just sitting on my terrace after dark is a real adventure. thankfully we have no scorpions on my side of the hill, but i did pick up a pair of sweats that i’d thrown on the floor and something big and black fell out of the leg before i put them on. also do not walk around in the middle of the night barefoot. god only knows what it was i stepped on because i didn’t turn on the lights, so i won’t do that again. it’s life in the neotropics. those are probably army ants, no??? we had some in our hood a few years ago and they came into my girlfriend’s house, cleaned up all the detritus and then left. they do serve a purpose and they are cheaper than hiring a cleaner for a couple of hours. i used mirex on the leaf cutters last year after they ate 5 citrus trees in as many days. they had built an entire condo at the bottom of my hill, but i killed every one of them and they haven’t been back since. if you don’t like bugs, you picked the wrong place to live.
[quote=”maravilla”]they do serve a purpose and they are cheaper than hiring a cleaner for a couple of hours. i used mirex on the leaf cutters last year after they ate 5 citrus trees in as many days. they had built an entire condo at the bottom of my hill, but i killed every one of them and they haven’t been back since.[/quote]
We just planted 27 fruit trees and the leaf cutters went after the citrus immediately. I’d welcome the army ants back again. We didn’t see them last year but if they came by every year we probanly wouldn’t have ther problem with the leaf cutters as bad as we do.
I found out that the Bounce fabric softener sheets will deter the leaf cutters but they only work for the trees small enough to tie them around. I dont know about other brands of softener sheets.
How about the worms in mangos and mangas? Anybody have a solution for them? I dont like using chemicals but I’m thinking about the organic Pyrethrum (made from Chrysanthemums) as a last resort.
The only other problem we have are the Cane toads. The cats and dogs want to play with them and that could be fatal.
of my two dogs, only one has any interest in the bufos, and that’s the dog who is nearly blind and 16.5 years old. i have an enclosed garden with a 9 foot high wall around it, so i have to put them out there at night to pee. there’s no way the bufos can get in that space. i’ve got a couple of them that show up on my terrace that are HUGE!!! i guess there is a lot to eat for them!
can’t help you on the worm problem. it’s not warm enough where i live to grow mangoes.
Waggoner, you must be very aggressive about dealing with the leaf cutter ants. You can think that you’ve got them eradicated, turn your back, and (surprise!) they’re back. Treat the entire colony lightly with the Mirex pellets which they’ll actually take down into the ground where the Mirex does its magic. If you use too many, however, the ants seem to get it and they stop taking them underground.
That’s when the powder pump and Lorsban come into play. As before, you have to be vigilant to pump the Lorsban into every opening while not inhaling any of it yourself.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Waggoner, you must be very aggressive about dealing with the leaf cutter ants. You can think that you’ve got them eradicated, turn your back, and (surprise!) they’re back. Treat the entire colony lightly with the Mirex pellets which they’ll actually take down into the ground where the Mirex does its magic. If you use too many, however, the ants seem to get it and they stop taking them underground.
That’s when the powder pump and Lorsban come into play. As before, you have to be vigilant to pump the Lorsban into every opening while not inhaling any of it yourself.[/quote]
Advice taken. Thanks.
[quote=”maravilla”]of my two dogs, only one has any interest in the bufos, and that’s the dog who is nearly blind and 16.5 years old. i have an enclosed garden with a 9 foot high wall around it, so i have to put them out there at night to pee. there’s no way the bufos can get in that space. i’ve got a couple of them that show up on my terrace that are HUGE!!! i guess there is a lot to eat for them!
can’t help you on the worm problem. it’s not warm enough where i live to grow mangoes.[/quote]
We will have to live with the bufos. Every year they come back with the rains.
I’ll have to let a few of the worms go to maturity to find out exactly what they are and go from there.
Thanks.
Take your [i]mangos and worms[/i] in a plastic baggie, to your local hardware or animal feed store. They will tell you what you need.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Take your [i]mangos and worms[/i] in a plastic baggie, to your local hardware or animal feed store. They will tell you what you need.[/quote]
THank you CRF
If bugs are bothersome why did you move to Costa Rica? Seems kind of odd given that Costa Rica is famous for BUGS…BUGS…and MORE BUGS.
people move here without realizing how bad it can get, especially this time of year. i’ve been sweeping beetles out of my house for the last three days, until i finally sprayed a thin line of Tetrocip 9 along the threshold. they just won’t cross that line, and the ones that did are very very dead. god only knows what that stuff is, but it works, and it doesn’t take much. i transplanted some sweet potatoes yesterday and when i dug into the soil, there were all kinds of creepy crawly things i hadn’t ever seen before, so they have been awakened by the rains and are coming to life. welcome to paradise. jejeje the best part of this time of year is the return of the hummingbirds. when i leave my doors open they fly into my house. one got stuck this morning and when he ran into the wood paneling above the sliding glass doors, his beak got stuck in the wood and he was just dangling there, 9 feet above the floor, until i fetched a neighbor to come and dislodge him. and what’s with the flies? i had a swarm of them in the kitchen this morning and there wasn’t even any food or fruit out. oh well, what can you do but suffer through it?
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