September 10 1998 Vol. 2 No. 1
Table of Contents
Proclamation for Fire Ant Awareness Week - Lynette James, Agricultural Communications
Below is the proclamation signed by Gov. Bush proclaiming Sept. 14-20, 1998 as Fire Ant Awareness Week in Texas:
PROCLAMATION. Fire ants first invaded our country in the 1930s. Originally from South America, they are believed to have arrived on ships that docked at Mobile, Alabama. Without any natural competitors, parasites or predators, fire ants spread out quickly, reaching Texas in the 1950s. Today, the infestation covers 50 million acres in the eastern two-thirds of our state.
Fire ants cost Texas about $300 million per year. In urban areas, homeowners 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 the painful ant bites.
Rural Texas suffers as well. Fire ants feed on seeds and young plants. They damage electrical and irrigation systems and prevent harvesting by hand. They attack calves and other animals, resulting in increased veterinary expenses, decreased animal quality, and in the worst cases blindness and even death. Fire ants cause an estimated $67 million in damage annually to Texas' beef cattle industry alone.
These pests also alter the ecological balance of our state by damaging plants and reducing food sources for native ant species and other insects.
To combat this problem, the 75th Texas Legislature appropriated $2.5 million for a Texas Imported Fire Ant Management Plan. The plan calls for a coordinated effort among state agencies to address the fire ant problem through educational and regulatory programs and research. Among the state agencies taking part are the Agricultural Extension Service, the Department of Agriculture and the Parks and Wildlife Department. Scientists at the University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University are conducting research into biological control agents and pesticides to determine which can be used in an environmentally sound, cost-effective fire ant management program. Some progress already is being made.
An ideal time of the year to bait for fire ants is the late summer and early fall. So the time to strike is now. I urge all Texans to recognize the vital role state agencies and scientists are playing in the ongoing war aginst these pests. The success of the Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Plan is important to the Lone Star State's continued economic prosperity -- and every Texans' peace of mind.
Therefore, I George W. Bush, Governor of Texas, do herby proclaim September 14-20, 1998, FIRE ANT AWARENESS WEEK in Texas and urge the appropriate recognition whereof.
CONSUMER EVALUATION OF THE TWO-STEP METHOD FOR FIRE ANT CONTROL - Michael E. Merchant, Assistant Professor and Extension Urban Entomologist
(Published in the Proceed. 5th International Pest Ant Symp. and 1995 Ann. Imported Fire Ant Conf. pp. 157-60)
Hour-long presentations on how to use the Two-Step Method to control fire ants were made in six counties during April and May, 1993 and in two counties (Grayson and Taylor) during April, 1994. Programs were open to the public and emphasized a message that fire ants can be successfully controlled. An Extension Service fact sheet on the Two-Step Method (Merchant and Drees, 1992) was distributed during each meeting, and persons interested in participating in a home demonstration were solicited at this time.
Criteria for participating in the test were: (1) participants had not previously used fire ant baits as broadcast treatments for fire ants; (2) participants would follow the Two-Step Method for at least one summer; and (3) participants would be willing to fill out a follow-up survey at the end of the fire ant season.
Each volunteer was requested to fill out an application form (pre-survey) which asked several questions about previous experience with fire ant control and their satisfaction with the methods they had been using. In return, each volunteer received a one pound container of fire ant bait (Amdro® or Logic®) and a one pound container of an individual mound treatment, either Ortho Fire Ant Killer Granules (5% diazinon) or Ortho Orthene® Fire Ant Killer (75% acephate dust).
A second, follow-up survey (post-survey) was distributed to volunteers during November and December, 1993 and 1994. Surveys were collected during December and January, and results were entered into a computer for analysis.
Results
One hundred and thirty-six volunteers indicated their willingness to
participate in the study by completing the pre-survey. Of these, 102 participants
completed the post-survey, and 92 were able to try the Two-Step Method
for one season.
Prior to trying the Two-Step Method, 91.8% (n=111) of the respondents rated their fire ant problem as moderate to severe. The most popular treatments among pre-survey respondents were, in order of preference, granular insecticides (35.4%), baits applied as mound treatments (28.1%), and dusts (25.0%)(n=96). Liquid mound treatments were used by only 1% of the participants. Thirty-six percent of the participants had never used a bait product before the training (n=119). Of those who had used baits previously, Amdro® was used by 89.6%, Logic® (or Award®) by 15.6%, and Prodrone® by 2.6% (n=77).
The follow-up survey completed at the end of the fire ant season indicated that there were significant differences in satisfaction level between participants before and after following the Two-Step Method for one season (Chi-square test, P<0.01). More post-survey respondents indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ability to control fire ants compared to pre-survey respondents. More than 71% of post-survey respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the control provided by the method, compared with only 15.7% of the respondents to the pre-survey. Nearly 80% of the respondents said they obtained better control using the Two-Step Method compared to methods they had used in the past. Nearly 87% of the participants who used the Two-Step Method planned to continue it next year, 12% didn't know, and only one person said they would not use the method next year (n=91).
Seventy-one percent of the participants using Amdro® (n=60) were satisfied or very satisfied with the level of fire ant control compared to 62% using Logic® (n=16); however there was no significant difference between these two groups (P2 test, P>0.05). There appeared to be no relationship between the size of the area treated by participants and satisfaction with the method.
Participants in the study gave the Extension Service fact sheet on the Two-Step Method high marks. Nearly 90% agreed that brochure was understandable, 95% agreed it provided useful information, and nearly 85% agreed with the statement that the publication taught them things they did not previously know about fire ant control.
Conclusions
The use of broadcast bait applications for fire ant control provides
several advantages to consumers, including lower cost, enhanced safety,
and a higher degree of effectiveness. The Two-Step Method, based on broadcast
bait applications, provided a higher degree of satisfaction to consumers
than had been obtained with other methods, primarily individual mound treatments;
and most participants trying the method anticipated that they would continue
to use the program next year. For this reason, the Two-Step Method appears
to be a viable tool for encouraging the adoption of broadcast fire ant
bait treatments among consumers.
The training program and demonstration were well received by participating
county Extension agents as a means for educating clientele about better
methods for fire ant control. Further study is required to determine whether
use of home demonstrations can effectively increase the rate of adoption
of broadcast bait application among consumers.
Acknowledgements
County Extension agents Mark Arnold, Gary Bomar, John Cooper, Jan Cox,
Michael Lee, Stacy Reese, Curtis Thompson, and Tim Trimble set up the training
meetings and coordinated collection of the follow-up surveys. Special thanks
are extended to Ciba Corporation, American Cyanamid, and Ortho Consumer
Products for providing fire ant control materials for distribution to the
volunteers in this study.
Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service
serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color,
sex, religion, disability or national origin.
Letter of introduction(Drees)
Contents
Fire ant awareness week (desctription and instructions)
Event/Promotional ideas
Contacts
Frequently asked questions
Information sources
Media report
Cable/Theater Ad (disk provided with artwork file)
Media (News stories)
Inserts for Bills/Paychecks
Flyers for Retailers
Newpaper/Newsletter Ads
"Texas Imported Fire Ant Research & Management Plan" (3-5-98) - Two-page overview of Research and Management Plan
"Organizing a Community-Wide Fire Ant Suppression Program" (3-23-98) - Two-page overview of Starting a Community-Wide Management Program
Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Plan (the entire plan, also available as spiral-bound booklet) 35 pp
FY 1998-99 Project Overview - Overview of funded fire ant projects (contains summaries of proposals, funding amounts; also available as spiral-bound booklet) 59 pp
FY 1998-99 Directory (also available as spiral-bound booklet) 18 pp
Overview of Past Research and Education Successes
Progress Report, FY 1998 & Research Highlights (**under development)
(#001) Selecting a Strategy and Contracting a Commercial Pest Control Service for Community-Wide Management Programs (for community groups) 2 pp, 5/98
(#002) Commercial Pest Control Operator Involvement Community-Wide Management Programs (for PCO's & Landscapers) 4 pp, 6/98
(#003) Animal and Plant Health Protection Product Evaluation 3 pp, 1/98
(#004) Managing Fire Ants in Vegetable Gardens 2 pp, 5/98
(#005) The ABC's of Fire Ants and Their Management 2 pp, 5/98
(#006) Managing Red Imported Fire Ants in Wildlife Areas 2 pp, 5/98
(#007) Survey-Based Management of Red Imported Fire Ants 2 pp, 5/98
(#008) Collecting and Maintaining Colonies of Red Imported Fire Ants for Study 2 pp, 5/98
(#009) Potential Biological Control Agents for the Red Imported Fire Ant 4 pp, 5/98
(#010) Texas Pest Ant Identification (**under development)
(#011) Managing Red Imported Fire Ant in Electrical Equipment and Utility Housings 4 pp 5/98
(#012) A Review of "Organic" and Other Non-Traditional Methods for Fire Ant Control (**under development)
(#013) Identification of Texas fire ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Solenopsis spp.)(**under development)
(#014) Fire Ant Control Methods for Pets 2 pp, 6/98
(#015) Community Group "Kit" for Designing, Implementing and Evaluating an Imported Fire Ant Management Program (**under development)
B-6043, "Managing Red Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas" (Note: This is a FREE publication) 18 pp, 9/96
L-2061, "House-Infesting Ants and Their Management" leaflet, 8 pp, 1/98
L-5070, "The Two-Step Method Do-It-Yourself Fire Ant Control" leaflet, 11/93
Also see fire ant sections in appropriate agriculture guides (B-1220, sorghum, p. 4; B-1251, wheat, p. 4; B-1401 forage crops, p. 24)
Managing Red Imported Fire Ants in Agriculture (New) - TX, ARK, LA, AL
The Texas Two-Step Method: Do-it-yourself fire ant control (L-5070, rev.)
B-1536, "Fire Ants and Their Management" (suggestions for management in agriculture and older version of B-6043)(10/1993) (see below for new publications)
Una Vida Mejor: The Two-Step Method Fire Ant Control (hispanic translation)
Fire Ant Bait Broadcast Application Guide (to be posted)
CD-ROM with 110 slides of fire ants, impact, control and native ants (to be posted)
SS-1274, "Red Imported Fire Ant: Biology and Damage" (27 color slides), 1990
SS-1316, "Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis ivnicta) Management" (58 color slides), 1995
VHS-544, "Fire Ants" (U. Georgia), 29 min, 1989.
VHS-544, "The Hidden Threat" (KTBX Channel 3 News), 18 min.
VHS-458, "Living with Fire Ants" (TAEX), 15 min., 1989.
CD-ROM, "Imported Fire Ant Bytes" (U. ARKANSAS)
Imported Fire Ant Quarantine Areas (TDA map) 4/98
Fire Ant Trails newsletter: 5 issues and a special issue with CD from AR to date
TAEX Fire Ant Programs
_______________________________
Bexar County
Nathan L. Riggs
Extension Agent-IPM (Fire Ants) Bexar
County 3427 Northeast Parkway
San Antonio, Texas 78218
Phone: 210/467-6575 or 467-6578
Fax: 210/930-1753
Email: n-riggs@tamu.edu
Dallas & Tarrant
Counties Scott Russell
Extension Agent-IPM (Fire Ants)
Dallas/Tarrant Counties
10056 Marsh Lane, Suite B-101
Dallas, Texas 75229
Phone: 214/904-3050
Fax: 214/904-3080
Email: sarussel@tamu.edu
Harris County
Pamela Traylor
Extension Agent-IPM (Fire Ants)
Harris County #2 Abercrombie Dr.
Houston, Texas 77084
Phone: 281/855-5600
Fax: 281/855-5638
Email: p-traylor@tamu.edu
Travis & Williamson Counties
Lisa Lennon
Extension Agent-IPM (Fire Ants)
Travis/Williamson Counties
1600-B Smith Rd.
Austin, Texas 78721
Phone: 512/708-4797
Fax: 512/473-9611
Email: l-butts@tamu.edu
Statewide Support
Dr. Bastiaan "Bart" M. Drees
Director, Texas Imported Fire Ant Project
Department of Entomology
Texas A&M University
Minnie Belle Heep, Room 412-F
College Station, Texas 77843-2475
Phone: 409/845-5895 (or 845-6800)
Fax: 409/845-7029 (or 845-6501)
Email: b-drees@tamu.edu
Dr. Charles L. Barr Extension
Associate Fire Ant Project - IPM Research
P.O. Box 2150
Bryan, Texas 77806
Phone: 409/845-6800
Fax: 409/845-6501
Email: c-barr@tamu.edu
Rody Best
Extension Assistant
P.O. Box 2150
Bryan, Texas 77806
Phone: 409/845-6800
Fax: 409/845-6501
Email: r-best@tamu.edu
8/98
For more information, contact: Dr. Bastiaan "Bart" Drees Director, Texas Imported Fire Ant Project Department of Entomology Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-2475 Phone: 979/845-5895 E-mail: b-drees@tamu.edu Imported Fire Ant Web site: fireant.tamu.edu