EVALUATION OF 15% GRANULAR ACEPHATE (VELOCITY®)
AS A DRY INDIVIDUAL RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT MOUND TREATMENT
 
Charles L. Barr, Extension Associate
 

Velocity® (Valent U.S.A. Corp.) is a 15% granular acephate formulation that is similar to Orthene® Turf, Tree and Ornamental (TT&O) Spray or Ortho® Ant-Stop™ Ant Killer Dust (75% acephate dust) in method of application and mode of activity. It is marketed as a low-dust and low-odor alternative. This trial was conducted to evaluate this new formulation compared to four other treatments including Orthene® TT&O, a granular bifenthrin product (Talstar® T&O 0.2G) and control treatments.
 

Materials and Methods

Test plots were established by marking all active mounds with survey flags contained within a strip 30 feet wide and indeterminate length along an abandoned runway on the Texas A&M Riverside Campus, Brazos Co., Texas. Mound activity was determined using the minimal disturbance technique. Once ten mounds were marked, flag color was changed for the next ten and so on. Flags were then placed along one edge of the strip and numbered sequentially to divide the groups of ten mounds into plots. Plot width was then measured using a measuring wheel. These widths were arrayed from lowest to highest and divided into four equal groups to represent four replications. Treatments were randomly assigned within replications. The following treatments were applied on 7 October:
 
 

Name
Product
Rate
Application Method
acephate 15%G
 Velocity®
2 tsp 
dry per mound
bifenthrin 0.2G.
Talstar® T&O
2 tsp
dry per mound followed
 
 
 
with 1 gal water
acephate 75%D
Orthene® TT&O/
 
 
 
Ortho® Ant-Killer™ Dust
2 tsp
dry per mound
untreated control
none
--
--
water-only control
water
1 gal
drench per mound
 

Weather during application was partly cloudy with a temperatures ranging from approximately 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Soil was moderately moist. Treated mound evaluations were conducted 10, 15 and 23 October and 6 November 1996 using the minimal disturbance technique. The plots were surveyed for "satellite" mounds 9 October. Results were analyzed using PC SAS PROC Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), with means separated by Tukey's studentized range test (P < 0.05).
 

Results and Discussion

All treatments resulted in significant active ant mound reductions in treatment plots throughout the trial compared to both water-only and untreated control treatment plot mound number. There were no significant differences in the number of "new", satellite mounds occurring in plots between treatments. Total active mound numbers (treated mounds + "new" mounds) were significantly lower for all treatments versus controls at 7 days. At one month, all treatments were significantly different from the untreated control, but not from the water-drench control. Due to the rather small size of the treated mounds, it is not surprising that water-drenched mounds were more likely to relocated than untreated ones.


 
 Table 1. Number of active red imported fire ant mounds of ten per treatment plot, replicated four times, before and periodically after application of insecticide treatments applied, 7 October 1996, Brazos Co., Texas.
 
Mean number of active mounds
-----------
----3day----
------------
7 day
14 day
----------
----1month----
----------
Treatment
count
sats
tot
count
count
count
sat
tot
Pinpoint
0.75 b
2.25 a
3.00 b
0.25 b
0.00 b
0.25 b
3.25 a
3.50 b
Tals T&O
0.25 b
1.25 a
1.50 b
0.25 b
0.00 b
0.00 b
4.00 a
4.00 b
Orthene(std.)
0.25 b
1.00 a
1.25 b
0.00 b
0.50 b
0.00 b
3.00 a
3.00 b
CK Drench
7.50 a
1.00 a
8.50 a
6.50 a
6.50 a
3.25 a
2.75 a
6.00 ab
CK Dry
8.25 a
1.50 a
8.25 a
9.75 a
5.75 a
4.75 a
4.00 a
8.75 a
F
22.58
0.57
10.47
25.84
25.84
9.09
1.55
8.63
P
0.0001
0.7663
.00003
0.0001
0.0001
0.0006
0.2411
0.0007
MSD
2.973
4.016
4.2911
2.8135
3.7826
2.3728
4.2911
3.5636
d.f.=
12
Crit. Val.=
4.508
 

* Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P < 0.05) using PC SAS ANOVA and Tukey's Studentized Range test for mean separation.

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