Writer: Edith A. Chenault, 979-845-2886, e-chenault1@tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Bart Drees (979) 845-5878, b-drees@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION — What do the Aggies, the Longhorns and the Red Raiders, plus community groups in the eastern half of the Lone Star State have in common? They are all teaming up to tackle the red imported fire ant problem in Texas.
Gov. George Bush has declared Sept. 14-20, 1998, as Fire Ant Awareness Week in Texas. Even though most Texans are already painfully aware of the fire ant problem here and do not need a special declaration to remind them of the numerous mounds and agonizing stings, the message is one of cooperation, according to Dr. Bart Drees of College Station.
Drees, coordinator for the state’s Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Project, said the team concept applies not only to the research at Texas A&M, the University of Texas, Texas Tech University and the Texas Department of Agriculture, but also to community groups.
“We are encouraging neighbors to get together with neighbors, homeowner associations to work together, and communities to design and implement a fire ant control program,” he said.
Rep. Tom Ramsay, D-Mount Vernon, who sponsored the initial proposal to fund the project, said, “If you’ve got a front yard, a backyard or ball yard, a church yard or a back-40, you are affected by fire ants.”
“By working together, we believe we have an excellent chance of reducing the fire ant problem, neighborhood by neighborhood,” said Dr. Chester Fehlis, deputy director of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Extension faculty in many counties will be helping local groups become better informed about controlling the insect.
Red imported fire ants first invaded the United States in the 1930s.
Originally from South America, they are believed to have arrived on ships that docked at Mobile, Ala. With few natural enemies, they quickly spread, reaching Texas in the 1950s. Today the infestation covers more than 50 million acres in the eastern two-thirds of the state.
Fire ants are estimated to cost Texans about $300 million annually. In urban areas, residents spend more than $90 million each year trying to control fire ants in their lawns and gardens, repairing damage done by the pests and obtaining medical treatment for bites.
Rural Texans suffer as well. Fire ants feed on seeds and young plants. They damage electrical and irrigation systems and prevent harvesting by hand. Fire ants may attack calves and other animals, resulting in increased veterinary expenses, lower animal quality, and at times, blindness or death. A study conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service showed that red imported fire ants cause an estimated $67 million in damage annually in the state’s beef cattle industry.
Fire ants can be controlled relatively inexpensively in urban areas, Drees said.
One of the best programs available for heavily infested areas is the “two-step program,” he said. This program relies on annual or semi-annual broadcast application of one of the effective fire ant bait products.
Researchers have determined an ideal time to apply bait is in the fall. When bait is applied according to label directions usually about 1 to 1-1/2 pounds per acre control may not be realized for several weeks. A fall application allows the bait to work during the winter so there will be fewer fire ants in the spring.
The second part of the “two-step method” is treating individual mounds.
“However, let the baits do the lion’s share of the work so you can minimize your reliance on individual mound treatments,” he added.
Researchers at Texas A&M University are studying a fire ant disease called Thelohania solenopsae and are conducting competitive ant species and genetic manipulation studies. Additionally, they have developed a computer program called the Fire Ant Spatial Information Management System to determine the pest’s distribution using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
At Texas Tech University, researchers have developed a static electric device (SED) that prevents fire ants from infesting electrical equipment. Additionally, they are studying natural enemies such as a parasitic mite and how fire ants affect deer and quail in the state.
University of Texas studies center on the phorid fly and ways to manipulate fire behavior and reproduction.
Texas Department of Agriculture inspectors have conducted fire ant surveys in all counties along the leading edge of the known distribution.
The Texas Legislature appropriated $2.5 million annually for 1998 and 1999. The Fire Ant Research and Advisory Committee which oversees the research and education funded by the legislature will ask for more funding for the next two years.
“We are never going to buy pesticides with this money, but we are funding research,” Ramsay said. “We are a long way down the road studying natural enemies and other creative controls. And we need to keep that momentum.”
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