Thursday, May 21, 1998

Don't let less visibility of fire ant mounds fool you this season

By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News

Some friends told me that they haven't seen as many fire ant "mounds" this year.

The wetter the year -- the higher the fire ants build mounds. (That's why mounds are so high in states with lots of rain like Alabama or Georgia).

But in a dry years, the mounds are much flatter.

In an extremely dry year -- like we've had -- the fire ants literally "go underground." Invisible colonies.

Although the menacing ants aren't so visible during a severe drought, they are still around.

In fact, they cause at least $300 million in economic damage -- just in Texas alone.

Affect homeowners across the board

Of all the subjects this farm writer covers -- there are more inquiries about fire ants than any other topic.

Nothing else is even close.

Why?

Because they affect city people just as much as country folks.

Fire ants will wreak havoc with anyone's yard -- and they love to get into any kind of electrical stuff. (I opened the hood on my car one day and there were thousands of fire ants in my alternator).

They are drawn to items air conditioner units and the like.

Now is the time to combat ants

Texas Ag Commissioner Rick Perry says that now until mid-June is a crucial time for homeowners to treat their yards to help control this painful, economic nuisance.

Under a statewide fire ant plan, four specialized County Extension agents are available to speak to neighborhood and community groups about organizing community-wide treatment programs to control fire ants.

The aim is to control the ants both economically and in harmony with the environment.

To contact one of these four statewide agents, you should contact your local county Extension Service office.

Fire Ant Research and Management Plan

Educating property owners about community-wide treatment is part of the Texas Fire Ant Research and Management Plan.

The plan is coordinated by the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas A&M Agricultural Extension Service and other universities and state agencies to work toward the short-term relief as well as the long-term solution to fire ant control.

Coordination is the key.

"With individual yard treatments, fire ants are now being chased from property line to property line," Perry said. "This results in multiple treatments which could be reduced to just two treatments a year -- once in the fall and once in the spring -- with coordinated 'blockwide' or 'neighborhood wide' applications."

Perry notes that along with reducing pesticide use, community-wide teatments also can help homeowners reduce their costs -- an estimated $10 million a year -- spent in Texas on controlling fire ants in lawns an gardens.

The state plan also provides for extensive surveys which TDA is helping conduct, to determine where imported fire ant populations are the highest in Texas and what methods are the most effective in slowing the insects' progress.

For long-term solutions, the plan has funded 35 research projects through Texas A&M University, the University of Texas and Texas Tech University to identify and develop economical as well as ecological solutions to control imported fire ants.

Perry says there is no "silver bullet" to keep fire ant populations in check. Instead -- at this time -- a combination of control methods seem to get the best results