Diatomaceous earth is very good for killing ants of all kinds as well as other insects. It works nicely in a puffer bottle with a long tip. I just stick the tip in the ants' entrances and give a little squeeze to puff a bit down the hole. If you can't find the entrance holes, you can mix the diatomaceous earth with bait like sugar. It works best with powdery stuff. It does not work as well if you mix it with wet stuff.
The disadvantage of diatomaceous earth (D.E.) is that you have to reapply whenever it gets wet. If you keep doing it for a while, you can almost wipe them out in a small area. I have no idea how to get it to work on a big farm. It is great for home gardens, though.
You can buy D.E. in feed stores where they sell chicken stuff. You don't need very much of it to kill a lot of ants or other insects. It also makes a nice barrier. I used to keep a little line of D.E. around the edge of my yard to keep ants from coming in from the neighbors places.
D.E. isn't poison to people or animals, you can even eat it or give it to your animals to kill parasites like worms. It is not good to breathe, though. I use a mask when I am applying it. It is also good to add to flour and other stored foods in small quantities to prevent bugs from taking over the foods. Here is a place to get dosages for parasites:
http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod....
This site has how to use D.E. for food storage:
https://www.diatomaceousearth....
Here is how the same site applies D.E. for pests:
https://www.diatomaceousearth....
