Fire Ants – No Control With Club Soda
My friend Eddie Rhoades is a unique individual…and his brother Robert surely fell from the same tree.
Robert once asked me if I thought club soda poured into a fire ant mound would kill them.
I casually replied that it sounded like something worth investigating…that he should try it and let me know how it worked.
From that conversation, a bit of Internet hyperbole has arisen. I have gotten variations of the paragraphs below several times.
I am friends with both Eddie and Robert, but I have not “endorsed” the pouring of club soda onto fire ant mounds.
From several replies that I’ve gotten, club soda has no effect on fire ants. The insects simply rebuild their mounds afterwards.
The carbon dioxide atmosphere in the mound does not linger long enough to suffocate any ants.
Baits and mound treatments are still the best way to control fire ants.
Fall is Best to Control Fire Ants
Note about someone who tried it: lots of fizzing!!
The Internet posting:
Eddie’s brother Robert Rhoades has discovered an environmentally friendly cure for fire ants that has been announced by Walter Reeves on his Georgia Gardener radio program. Testimonials that it REALLY WORKS are coming in.
Simply pour two cups of CLUB SODA (carbonated water) directly in the center of a fire ant mound. The carbon dioxide in the water is heavier than air and displaces the oxygen which suffocates the queen and the other ants. The whole colony will be dead within about two days.
Here’s the good side: club soda leaves no poisonous residue, does not contaminate the ground water, and does not indiscriminately kill other insects. Each mound must be treated individually and a one liter bottle of club soda will kill 2 to 3 mounds.
Spread the word.
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