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Red Imported Fire Ants, Management Options -- Continued from March Issue

Red Imported Fire ants, Managemnet Option—Continued from March Issue Source: University ofArkansas
Nurserymen's Options
The movement of queen and colonies in sod and nursery stock was recognized early in the study of RIFA as a factor in its expansion throughout the south. In 1958 a federal quarantine was initiated to limit the movement of various materials outside of the quarantine area. The quarantine is in place today throughout much of the south. Nurseries that are selling materials outside of the quarantine have to meet specific criteria before they can obtain certification to move the materials.
In order to comply with rules under the Fire Ant Free Nursery program within the federal quarantine, commercial nurseries have to meet certain criteria. If a nursery wants to be in the program, it must periodically broadcast a labeled fire ant bait within the confines of the growing area.
Certification of containerized plants through incorporation of granular or dust formulations of an insecticide into the media by immersion or drenching are standard practices in nurseries wanting to sell nursery stock outside of the quarantine. The products labeled for use within the nursery situation are:
Amdro, Award, Diazinon, Dursban, Fireban, and Talstar
Cattlemen's Options
Losses to cattlemen due to the impact fire ants have on their operation is currently under study. Economic losses in hay production, injury to cattle, and injury to cattlemen are just three of the areas RIFA impacts cattle production However, treatment decisions must be made by each producer. Losses depend greatly on the size and character of mounds and the pasture situation.
Chemical control of Pastures
Broadcast applications of bait materials cost roughly $10.00 or more per acre per year and MAY NOT provide a return on the investment.
Use products registered for use on pastures -- broadcast application of hydramethylnon (Amdro) and individual mound treatments with a registered contact insecticide product.
Where feasible, and particularly if summer calving is the common practice in your areas , designate a calving pasture and treat it as described above ---this ensures that calving can occur without the threat of fire ant attacks.
Non-Chemical Control of Pastures
These suggestions can reduce various problems caused by fire ants while maintaining a stable ant population. When stable populations are maintained, they help suppress lone star ticks, filth breeding flies, and other pests. Use a combination of the following suggestions:
Schedule the cow fertility program to ensure that calving occurs during cold weather when fire ants are less active (soil temperatures below 65 F). This reduced the probability of ants being present during calving.
Use shallow disking or drag heavy objects such as railroad ties across pastures to temporarily flatten tall, hardened mounds. Although this practice will seldom eliminate fire ants it can suppress their numbers.
In harvesting/cutting pastures use disc-type (Kountz) cutters. Their design can withstand the impact of fire ant mounds, and thus reduce equipment damage.
Remove hay bales from the field immediately after baling to prevent ants from invading. This is especially important if rain is anticipated.
Store bales off the ground or in an area around which the ants have been treated.
Poultry Producers Options
Generally RIFA builds mounds outside poultry houses and forage on dead birds inside the house. Workers picking up dead birds are often stung by RIFA.
Use a combination of the following suggestions:
Remove food sources (trash, piled feed, broken eggs, and dead chickens) and nesting sites (pieces of lumber, old equipment, and manure piles).
Remove weeds and grass from around poultry houses with mowers or herbicides.
If ants are nesting inside the house, treat litter with a registered product (carbaryl and others). Do not allow insecticides to come into contact with feed or water supplies; read the poultry section of the label.
If picking up dead birds, use gloves coated with talc, it should decrease the number of ants moving onto the hand.
If fire ants are foraging INSIDE the poultry house from outside, spray a barrier around the outside of the building with chlorpyrifos (Dursban) or diazinon (Diazinon), and /or use baits (hydramethylnon Amdro), fenoxycarb(Logic), avermectin (Ascend)) or other labeled contact insecticides around the perimeter areas of the house(s). Do not allows chickens access to fire ant bait or bait-treated areas.
Producers should ALWAYS check with their Complex Manager prior to the use of any product recommended ---- Complex rules of pesticide use vary with production company.
Commercial Fish Producers Options
Fire ants are a threat to fish pond owners due to their ability to short circuit electric aeration equipment and wells. Fire ants on commercial fish ponds may also cause problems for personnel working around the water's edge. Checking oxygen and seining fish is not fun; the presence of fire ants make it even less fun.
There is not evidence that fire ants impact fish populations or commercial fish production directly. However, fire ants can be toxic to fish if directly ingested. When a colony of fire ants gets washed into a pond or stream, the ants generally cling together to form a floating ball of ants. These occurrences are rare and are NOT considered a major problem.
Recreational fish pond owners are impacted due to the inability to fish from the pond bank due to fire ant presence. Fire ants have been known to build nests in docked boats.
A specific treatment program for land surrounding fish ponds has not yet been described. However, a program for long-term ant suppression similar to those outlined in pastures and rangelands appears to be the most reasonable.
A semi-annual broadcast in the spring and fall of a bait product such as fenoxycarb (Logic) or hydramethylnon (Amdro)
Several days after bait application, application of a contact insecticide around electrical aeration equipment, wells, and locations where seining occurs.
When treating around fish ponds, extreme caution should always be exercised to follow label instructions, and to ensure that insecticides are kept away from the water.
Wildlife Areas
Certain forms of wildlife are especially affected by ants during and soon after birth or hatching. The risk is greatest during the warm months. Fawns are vulnerable because they are born in June and because they instinctively remain motionless in their hiding places. Hatching quail and ground-nesting waterfowl chicks are also attacked. The impact of RIFA on area wide populations of wildlife remain undocumented.
Detailed investigations are underway in fire ant infested areas. Determining the impact of RIFA on an ecosystem may find that the results are species and site specific.
Fire ant control programs in wildlife areas are discouraged UNLESS the benefits from such treatments have been documented. Many pesticides are toxic to non-target organisms (particularly to aquatic organisms) and may directly or indirectly affect game species if not used properly.
Wildlife breeding areas are considered non-agricultural lands, and thus can be treated with products registered for this kind of site, i.e. hyramethylon (Amdro), fenoxycarb (Award), acephate (Orthene), chlorophyrifos (Dursban).
Exotic game ranches are considered commercial agriculture areas. Treat breeding areas as described on the label.
The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service does not endorse products.
Remove weeds and grass from around poultry houses with mowers or herbicides.
If ants are nesting inside the house, treat litter with a registered product (carbaryl and others). Do not allow insecticides to come into contact with feed or water supplies; read the poultry section of the label.
If picking up dead birds, use gloves coated with talc, it should decrease the number of ants moving onto the hand.
If fire ants are foraging INSIDE the poultry house from outside, spray a barrier around the outside of the building with chlorpyrifos (Dursban) or diazinon (Diazinon), and /or use baits (hydramethylnon Amdro), fenoxycarb(Logic), avermectin (Ascend)) or other labeled contact insecticides around the perimeter areas of the house(s). Do not allows chickens access to fire ant bait or bait-treated areas.
Producers should ALWAYS check with their Complex Manager prior to the use of any product recommended ---- Complex rules of pesticide use vary with production company.
Commercial Fish Producers Options
Fire ants are a threat to fish pond owners due to their ability to short circuit electric aeration equipment and wells. Fire ants on commercial fish ponds may also cause problems for personnel working around the water's edge. Checking oxygen and seining fish is not fun; the presence of fire ants make it even less fun.
There is not evidence that fire ants impact fish populations or commercial fish production directly. However, fire ants can be toxic to fish if directly ingested. When a colony of fire ants gets washed into a pond or stream, the ants generally cling together to form a floating ball of ants. These occurrences are rare and are NOT considered a major problem.
Recreational fish pond owners are impacted due to the inability to fish from the pond bank due to fire ant presence. Fire ants have been known to build nests in docked boats.
A specific treatment program for land surrounding fish ponds has not yet been described. However, a program for long-term ant suppression similar to those outlined in pastures and rangelands appears to be the most reasonable.
A semi-annual broadcast in the spring and fall of a bait product such as fenoxycarb (Logic) or hydramethylnon (Amdro)
Several days after bait application, application of a contact insecticide around electrical aeration equipment, wells, and locations where seining occurs.
When treating around fish ponds, extreme caution should always be exercised to follow label instructions, and to ensure that insecticides are kept away from the water.
Wildlife Areas
Certain forms of wildlife are especially affected by ants during and soon after birth or hatching. The risk is greatest during the warm months. Fawns are vulnerable because they are born in June and because they instinctively remain motionless in their hiding places. Hatching quail and ground-nesting waterfowl chicks are also attacked. The impact of RIFA on area wide populations of wildlife remain undocumented.
Detailed investigations are underway in fire ant infested areas. Determining the impact of RIFA on an ecosystem may find that the results are species and site specific.
Fire ant control programs in wildlife areas are discouraged UNLESS the benefits from such treatments have been documented. Many pesticides are toxic to non-target organisms (particularly to aquatic organisms) and may directly or indirectly affect game species if not used properly.
Wildlife breeding areas are considered non-agricultural lands, and thus can be treated with products registered for this kind of site, i.e. hyramethylon (Amdro), fenoxycarb (Award), acephate (Orthene), chlorophyrifos (Dursban).
Exotic game ranches are considered commercial agriculture areas. Treat breeding areas as described on the label.
The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service does not endorse products.