In the News - August 2008
Pope County calls out the fire (ant) fighters
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Fire ants are moving north, but some in Pope County are
doing everything possible to make sure they don't gain ground.
Fire ants have infested the southern half of Arkansas since the 1950s and,
according to the Arkansas State Plant Board, they have moved farther north than
scientists thought possible by using the heat from southern exposures of
buildings, concrete and asphalt.
Most counties south of Faulkner County are under quarantine by the State
Plant Board, and Yell County, which borders Pope County, is no exception.
However, Phil Sims, Pope County extension agent with the University of
Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, has been working with Russellville city
leaders to keep Pope County from being quarantined as well.
"Pope County has been an isolated-find county for over 10 years," says Sims.
"We've known that we have fire ants and we've done educational programs and
those kinds of things."
Fire ants are aggressive and sting, much like bees and wasps.
"The difference is that when fire ants get on you there are usually multiple
stings and bites," says Sims. "It's very uncomfortable."
They pose the greatest dangers to children and the elderly and to some
wildlife, and about 5 percent of the population is allergic to fire ants. The
ants can overwhelm ground nesting birds, baby deer and even calves, and they can
wreak havoc on electrical and irrigation systems and farm equipment.
Fire ants are undesirable, even in isolation, but there are several reasons
for counties to want to stay off the fire ant quarantine list.
Quarantined counties are restricted from transporting to non-quarantined
counties without Plant Board clearance any soil or plants with soil
attached - sod, hay and construction equipment are all included. Businesses and
industries considering sites may choose a non-quarantined county over a
quarantined county to avoid the hassle of having their products inspected before
shipping to non-quarantined areas.
"If we ever do become quarantined, our entomologists say that our fire ants
will increase," says Sims. That's because companies in counties that are
quarantined can ship to other quarantined counties with no inspections required.
The Russellville City Council voted in July to form a committee to figure out
how to control the fire ants threatening the community's exports. That committee
is reaching out to business and industry leaders, school officials and
individual residents to make sure those people understand the importance of
controlling fire ants and avoiding quarantine.
There are regulations in place that allow city officials to take care of fire
ant problems if property owners don't - for a fee to cover the cost of abatement
as well as discourage lack of action.
To stay on top of the fire ant problem, people need to know how to identify
fire ants.
"We do not encourage indiscriminately killing native ants because they're
here for a reason," says Sims. "A healthy native ant population actually helps
you fend off a fire ant population because they're very territorial."
Stomp next to a fire ant mound and fire ants will flow aggressively from the
top.
"At that point, you know you have them," says Sims.
He recommends using a bait to kill the queen and insecticide to kill the
workers - and he recommends doing it as soon as a mound appears.
"This is kind of a last-minute push to get people in Pope County to wake up
and do something before the Plant Board steps in and quarantines us," says Sims.
"We don't want to be quarantined."
For more information about fire ants, visit the extension's Web site,
www.uaex.edu, or contact your county
extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A
Division of Agriculture.
August 29, 2008
By Kimberly Dishongh
For the Cooperative Extension Service
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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