SUNDAY, MAY 4, 1997                                         redant.gif (12358 bytes)

Fire ants spreading in state

300,000 can live inside mounds

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Fire ants, those stinging creatures whose mounds dot landscapes around the South, are on the march in Arkansas.

Donna Shanklin, a specialist on fire ants for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, says the ants were first ported in Arkansas in the 1950s in Union County. They have since spread to more than two dozen counties.

"Based on information researchers have now, it is believed the ants have the potential to establish themselves from Fort Smith in the west to Jonesboro in the east," Shanklin said.

A large ant mound --about 1 to l 1/2 feet high -- may contain 3000,000 ants. The rest of the mound may go 4 feet into the ground.

Anyone who kicks over a mound runs the risk of being swarmed by the stinging ants. The ants also can crawl into electrical systems and short circuit them and can undermine bridges and other structures.

Colonies are transported long distances in soil associated with movement of sod and nursery root stock or fill dirt, Shanklin said.

Construction equipment for roads, pipelines and electrical and telecommunications lines are other common means of spread. They sometimes hitch rides on cars.

Communities that are home to the ants now have a framework for developing abatement programs, Shanklin said.

At this spring's legislative session, Sen. Jim Scott, D-Warren, introduced a bill creating a way for communities to control the ants. The legislation was modeled on the mosquito abatement act.

Under the act, residents may ask their quorum court to start a fire ant abatement district Oncethe court approves, assessors will assigned and assessments made.

" If you want to start a program, contact your county Extension agent, who can tell you how other communities are handling fire ants," Shanklin said. "Agents can also advise you about how to start an abatement program. Grassroots involvement is critical for a program to work in the long run."