Experts advise, mount fire ant defensive now

04/03/2001

BY LAMAR JAMES

Cooperative Extension Service

Farmers and homeowners with fire ant problems should use April to plan ways to control the stinging insect, says Donna Shanklin, a fire ant expert with the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas.

She said neighborhood residents should have meetings and get organized to fight fire ants on a united front. County extension agents and local extension Master Gardener groups can be a valuable resource for farmers and homeowners in this fight.

Currently, 27 Arkansas counties have a quarantine that affects certain products that can shipped in and out of those counties. Another 13 counties have known infestations.

Shanklin said April is typically the calm before the storm where fire ants are concerned.

"They first start appearing in large numbers in May because that's when temperatures generally rise to about what fire ants like, 70 degrees and above."

People should begin using chemical baits to control fire ants in May, according to Shanklin.

For homeowners, ants are a threat to electrical equipment, structures, pets and people. A Pine Bluff woman died in 1995 from fire ant stings, Shanklin said.

Fire ants also cause problems for fruit and vegetable farmers, according to Kelly Loftin, fire ant specialist. He said the primary impact is on migrant workers who pick the crops. They may not have encountered fire ants before and may not know the dangers.

"The money you can make on vegetable operations can be high, and the risk can be high. There's a lot of labor involved. If farmers are concerned, we're recommending Extinguish, which contains the active ingredient methoprene."

Extinguish is a bait product that acts primarily on the queen. Worker ants take the poison to their queen who becomes sterile.

Loftin said extension did a demonstration project last year with a Drew County peach grower, who was happy because only one of his pickers was stung by fire ants. Loftin said the proper use of Extinguish was the reason for the successful outcome.

"It's also registered for use in row crops if a farmer feels as if the ants are having an economic impact," Loftin said. "This product is an insect growth regulator, and timing is critical.

You need to apply it three or four weeks before you harvest because it takes that long to have a significant impact on ant numbers."

Loftin said there aren't any studies yet on the economic impact of fire ants on soybean production, but there are investigations underway to see if they affect germination and hurt seedlings.

Shanklin and Loftin said the main complaint they hear from producers is that during harvesting the large ant mounds can get thrown into the combine. The farmers then get docked for having trash in their seed. They said farmers get stung when they stop in the field and try to clean the debris out of their equipment.

"A lot of cotton scouts also get stung because they can't see the mounds when the cotton gets to a certain height," Loftin said.

He said it's important that farmers get accurate information. He said county agents are a good source of advice on the types of baits to use on fire ants and how to apply them. He said local extension offices have free publications on fire ant control.

The Daily Citizen