COLLEGE STATION — Research and community-wide control programs are the cornerstones of a plan which joins together several leading state universities and state agencies with communities to lessen the sting of the red imported fire ant in Texas.
The proposal provides short-term relief as well as a commitment to developing a long-term solution to the problem which has plagued people, livestock and pets in most of the state.
“The fire ant is an aggressive invader and it continues to spread across Texas,” said Dr. Bart Drees, entomologist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
Texas officials will present the plan to the legislature during its current session. The proposal includes a $2.7 million annual budget for the next six years.
“Many people do not realize how fast fire ants are multiplying and what damage they can do to industry, to farms, to utilities, to wildlife — all those things are affected,” said Rep. Tom Ramsay, D- Mount Vernon. “And my legislation is to not only let people know about the problems but to coordinate the efforts of the research universities in Texas and to give information to the people in the state.”
Red imported fire ants cause an estimated $300 million in losses in Texas each year, Drees said.
Fire ant colonies have infested 56 million acres, about two- thirds of Texas. The pests invade lawns, gardens and occasionally homes, leading to increased medical costs for people and pets, reduced property values, structural damage and contaminated water systems due to pesticide overuse or misuse.
In the five major metropolitan areas of the state (San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston), it’s estimated that homeowners lost nearly $100 million to the fire ant during 1996. Fire ants infest electrical equipment such as air conditioners, traffic boxes and airport runway lights, which can cause electrical fires, equipment failure, costly repairs and injury to service personnel and the general public.
“Although we don’t have a way to eradicate the fire ant today, we do know how to control them where they are a problem in urban areas. And, we can do a lot better job if we work together in neighborhoods, homeowner associations or communities to coordinate control efforts,” Drees said.
This plan differs from past plans in that this is a coordinated effort among all major Texas organizations addressing the fire ant problem through research, educational and regulatory programs, said Larry Gilbert, researcher with the University of Texas.
These include the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Tech University, University of Texas, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The research segment of the plan will include several phases, including evaluating available technology that looks promising, investigating integrated pest management solutions and exploring new technology such as biological control agents and potential weaknesses in the ants’ biology that could be used against them, Gilbert said.
Community-wide management and education programs also will be an integral part of the plan.
The Texas Agricultural Extension Service will be committing personnel, expertise and resources to help selected community groups organize, implement and evaluate area-wide programs, Drees said.
The Texas Department of Agriculture will oversee regulatory programs to prevent the further spread of fire ants.
Additionally, all of the agencies will be involved in developing and disseminating information about the pest to assist the public in implementing effective fire ant management.
The plan was developed under the auspices of the Texas Fire Ant Research and Management Account Advisory Committee, established in 1995 by the Texas Legislature.
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