Cream of wheat cereal for ant control?

[attie]

I have a serious ant problem around the yard and apparently the above is an excellent eco friendly way of getting rid of them. The problem is that I cannot find it and the only info I can find is "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is similar in texture to grits, but made with farina (ground wheat) instead of ground corn".

So the double whammy is that we don't have grits here either. Can someone explain "grits" to me and could "cream of wheat" be known under another name
thanks
Wayne
[/FONT]

 

[Uncle Bob]

Wayne -- Read this for some information on Grits....

Cream of Wheat should be on your hot cereal aisle/section in the grocery...You might look for Malto Meal as well. I've never tried Cream of Wheat for ants --- The theory is they eat one little grain..it swells inside of them and BOOM ---they explode!!! Or at the very least die of a bad tummy ache!!

Have Fun!!!

 

[jennyema]

Ants eat Cream of Wheat? Who knew?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Ants eat Cream of Wheat? Who knew?

They say .....

 

[attie]

Thanks Bob, that was quite an interesting read. I am afraid we do not have anything like it on our S/M shelves and I have not heard of Malto Meal either.

Polento? yes, I have semolina, which is virtually the same thing, here at home as I use it instead of flour when crumbing or grilling fish or chicken. So I'm wondering what the difference is between wheat and corn, is the wheat more attractive to the ants, both swell with moisture.

I like the "BOOM" part as I have several varieties of ants from teeny ones to large "human eating" ones that come in and attack you while you are sitting in the lounge chair [sort of thing]. They bite like crazy and the more you disturb them the more aggressive they get.

I will try the semolina and see if it works
Thanks again

 

[Michael in FtW]

Maybe this will help:

Cream of Wheat is a trade/brand name - it is ground wheat similar in texture to grits. You may also find it by it's generic name: farina. Cream of Rice is bassically the same thing but, naturally, made from ground rice instead of wheat.

Semolina comes in two forms: fine ground flour from hard Durham wheat - it is what is normally used to make dried pasta, and when coarser ground from softer wheat it is known as farina.

Polenta: can be made with farina although it is most commonly made with cornmeal (cornmeal grits).

I have used cream of wheat and cream of rice - they both worked. I had a large and very active red ant bed and I poured a box all around the opening. By the next morning it was all gone! So, I poured another box around - it lasted almost 24 hours. It took 3-4 days if I remember right - but the ants dissapeared!

 

[Barbara L]

I have heard that oatmeal works, but I have never tried it.

I have also heard that if you take a scoop from one anthill and a scoop from another and dump the dirt and ants from Hill A onto Hill B and the dirt and ants from Hill B onto Hill A that they will kill the other ants off. I have never tried that either. As fast as those little buggers move, I'd be afraid to try that! James stuck a broom handle into a fire ant hill once and within seconds the whole thing was covered.

I hate the thought of wasting good Cream of Wheat or oatmeal, but I am going to have to try that.

Barbara

 

[attie]

Thanks Barbara, Michael
Touch wood we have rid ourselves of Fire ants, they got into our country just a few years back and the Gov. has spent $millions getting rid of them.
Michael, thanks for your post, that is very interesting. I have the fine semolina and I can get ground rice, our yard is covered in ants nests, there are millions of them so I am going to need lots to do the job