OK, I just finished reading the entire article I cited below and found something worthy of a trial.
"Conventional fire ant bait formulations are made of processed defatted corn grit impregnated with soybean oil. The soybean oil contains the active ingredient, or toxicant that kills the ant. Fire ants feed on the oil and ingest the toxicant."
Hmmm, I wonder if plain old uncooked grits moistened with soybean oil and spread around the mounds would have any effect or if it has to be "processed defatted corn grit". Inquiring minds want to know. I don't see any sources online but there happens to be a can of sardines packed in soybean oil in the kitchen cupboard. I think tonight I will drain a little oil off into some uncooked grits, set the stuff aside to absorb oil for a few days and then put it around a few mounds. I love a good experiment.
