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AU Research Aids in Fight Against Fire Ants
AUBURN, Ala. - For Alabama home owners who have fought the battle against fire ants on their lawns, Auburn University researchers are studying fire ant control methods to make that battle a little easier.
Red imported fire ants were introduced to this country through the port of Mobile from South America in the 1930s, according to Pat Cobb, professor of entomology in Auburn University's College of Agriculture.
Though fire ants are present year-round, stings are most likely during warm weather when the sterile female worker ants are most active above ground, Cobb said.
"When it's comfortable for us outside, it's comfortable for fire ants," she said.
Researchers estimate that Alabamians spend more than $15 million a year to control these pests. Fire ants may be so hard to control because they are very mobile, produce many offspring and can live in the soil, Cobb said.
David Oi, a research fellow in the Department of Entomology, and other researchers at Auburn are working on different strategies to improve fire ant control. One strategy he is studying is using the territorial interaction between fire ants and other ants to slow reinfestation.
"We can control fire ants," he said. "The problem is they reinfest the area." These reinfestations can seem worse than the original problem because there are many small colonies rather than a few large ones, Oi said.
Oi is hoping to find ways to manipulate populations of established fire ant colonies and other species of ants so that they are at levels low enough to not be a problem, but will prey on newly mated fire ant queens before they can start a colony.
"Other ants are probably the most efficient predators of these fire ant queens," Oi said.
Oi is also studying the most efficient ways to use baits. Because baits lose their potency quickly after application, researchers would like to find when ants are most likely to feed on them.
In addition to these studies, researchers in the entomology department test new chemical products intended for control of fire ants.
Chemical controls are the most common method used because there are few naturally-occurring biological controls for fire ants. Also, because of their mobility, cultural controls are limited. Cobb said the goal of controlling fire ants with chemicals is to use the smallest amount necessary to do the best job.
Because fire ants cannot be eliminated from an area permanently, control is an ongoing effort. Products for control of fire ants in non-crop areas such as lawns are available in several different forms: dust, granular, drench, injection, fumigation and bait. The most common mistakes home owners make in trying to control fire ants are using unregistered materials like gasoline, disturbing the mound before treatment, which causes the ants to relocate, and to think mistakenly that the fire ants can be eradicated, Cobb said.
Auburn University researchers are working, with the assistance of state funds, to develop fire ant control strategies for larger landscapes, such as school grounds, cemeteries and parks, Cobb said.
"If we can control fire ants in larger areas, maybe it will have a direct impact on neighborhoods," Cobb said.
Editor's Note: For information on specific chemical products and their use, Circular ANR-175, "Imported Fire Ants in Lawns, Turf and Structures," is available through the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
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News from:
Office of Ag Communications & Marketing
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)
Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Anna M. Lee
