want to get rid of fire ants living in the soil of a containerized tree?
but don't want to use any pesticide?
here is a nifty little trick I figured out.
1). locate the tree that is infested with fire ants
2). carefully (without provoking the ants too much), move the plant to a location where you don't mind the ants going (maybe out in your yard, or on the driveway).
3). lay the plant down on it's side (just as if the wind had blown it over), preferably so the bottom (or the side) of the pot is facing the sun (usually southern exposure is best).
4). make sure to keep the tree hydrated, you can stand it up and water it if need be, or you can just wet the whole plant thoroughly with a hose.
it takes about 3-4 days usually (at least at my house with 3 gal nursery stock), but the ants will just pick up and leave.
my theory is, they have their colony set up so the bottom of the pot is the coolest place to be. When you turn the pot on it's side, it flips their world upside down, and changes the temperature of the colony, turning the deepest darkest, most comfortable places, into the warmest, most inhospitable places to be during the hottest part of the day.
I have done this on several occasions, and it works for any tree in a pot, the larger the pot, the longer it takes.
at the final phase of their emigration, there will be residual worker ants left prowling about the tree, but the majority of the ants are gone...and the colony is totally disrupted, forced to relocate elsewhere.
(of course remember, plants with fragile roots, plants that are freshly repotted, and not rooted, and plants that are sensitive to high heat, may be harmed by this method if you are not careful)
