1 / 13

I. d. History of Fire Ant Management

I. d. History of Fire Ant Management. Based on a Presentation by David F. Williams Department of Entomology & Nematology University of Florida A Teaching Module for Master Gardener Training. Management of Imported Fire Ants in the 1930’s & 1940’s. First attempts were to eradicate

pavel
Download Presentation

I. d. History of Fire Ant Management

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. I. d. History of Fire Ant Management Based on a Presentation by David F. Williams Department of Entomology & Nematology University of Florida A Teaching Module for Master Gardener Training

  2. Management of Imported Fire Ants in the 1930’s & 1940’s • First attempts were to eradicate • 1937: the first organized management program began with approximately 2,000 acres in Baldwin County • Calcium cyanide dust • 1940-1947: During these years (WWII), all management programs halted---fire ants continued to spread • 1948: Mississippi, Alabama & Louisiana appropriated funds for control program • 5% chlordane dust

  3. Management of Imported Fire Ants in the 1950’s • 1957: U.S. Congress appropriated $2.4M to USDA for federal/state cooperative • Management and eradication program • Nov. 1957 - heptachlor & dieldrin applied by airand ground • Environmental concerns began one year later, 1958, stopped

  4. Management of Imported Fire Ants in the 1960’s • 1960: mirex bait developed by the USDA • 1962: mirex bait replaced heptachlor as treatment for fire ants • 1962: publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring

  5. Converted WWII aircraft used to apply mirex bait 1962-1978More than 140 million acres treated AIRCRAFT BEING LOADED WITH MIREX BAIT

  6. Management of Imported Fire Ants: The Mirex Years • Total treatment costs = 0.30 cents/acre • Late 1960’s: mirex residues detected in non-targets • All registrations of mirexcancelled in 1978 because: • Persisted in the environment • Accumulated in non-target organisms • Toxic to estuarine organisms • Potential carcinogen action noted

  7. In 1977, the USDA initiated a large-scale chemical screening program to find a replacement for mirex.In 1980, just 2.5 years after mirex was bannedAMDRO FIRE ANT BAIT BECAME AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC

  8. Development of Imported Fire Ant Chemical Controls • 1937 – calcium cyanide dust • 1947 – chlordane dust • 1957 – heptachlor & dieldrin granulars • 1962 to 1978 – mirex • 1980’s – hydramethylnon, fenoxycarb, & abamectin • 1990’s – pyriproxyfen, methoprene, & spinosad • 2000’s – fipronil, indoxacarb, & ???

  9. Two-Step Method for Treating Lawns • For moderate to large areas of turf • Not recommended for lightly infested areas • Goal: Reduce fire ant problems while minimizing need to treat individual mounds • Step 1- Broadcast bait product in spring and/or fall • Step 2- Treat nuisance mounds as necessary; start scouting 3 days after bait treatment

  10. Community-wide Fire Ant Management • Cooperative efforts can save money and effort • Lengthens time of re-infestation • Education is key • Homeowners cooperate by treating the neighborhood • Homeowner associations can contract with a commercial applicator to treat neighborhood

  11. Concluding Remarks • CHEMICAL CONTROL is still the most effective method; however, biological control agents may provide long term suppression of fire ant populations. • FUTURE CONTROL will involve multiple strategies of chemical, biological, behavioral, molecular, physical and cultural methods • EDUCATION is an important key and plays a vital role in the management of IFA; hence the development of www.extension.org/fire+ants

  12. For more information, visit eXtension at http://www.extension.org/fire+ants Publications, slide sets, streaming video, posters, and more…

More Related