Do you have way too many little fire ants where you live?
Do you have way too many little fire ants where you live?
The experts at the state ag college and ag department offer tips and training on how to get rid of the proliferating pests.
The Hawaii Ant Lab located in the state Department of Agriculture building at 16 E. Lanikaula St. in Hilo holds a free “ant management clinic” each month in the HDOA conference room. Advance registration is required, due to limited space. For information on the next class, call 315-5656.
To learn about bait products available for homeowner use, stop by the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Extension Office at at 875 Komohana St. in Hilo, or call 981-5199.
Additional information is available online at www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/haraa/arthropod.asp (Arnold Hara) and www.littlefireants.com (Cas Vanderwoude).
The little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata, is a serious invasive pest, because this tiny ant (less than 1/16-inch long) spreads without detection into yards and homes, parks, landscapes, vacant properties and forests.
They deliver a very painful sting (similar to an electric shock) to people, pets and livestock, and even marine wildlife (sea turtles, ground-nesting birds). LFA are attracted to eye fluids, and stings near animals’ eyes can lead to blindness (corneal clouding or keratopathy).
What can you do?
Here are the steps for basic detection and control:
1. Use peanut butter: Check for ants using a thin smear of peanut butter on one end of a chopstick. Place chopsticks on the ground every 10-12 paces, in potted plants, and at the base of trees. After 40-45 minutes, check for ants on the chopsticks.
Are the ants red-orange, slow moving, and less than 1/16-inch long (thickness of a penny)? If the answer is yes, place the chopstick with ants into a zip-top bag and place it in the freezer. If the answer is no, repeat monitoring with peanut butter every month.
2. Identify and confirm that they are little fire ants to use appropriate control measures. Bring ant samples to either of the two state facilities for identification.
3. Treat with insecticidal ant baits: Baits are the only effective way to kill an ant colony by allowing the worker ants to carry the poison to the queen(s). There are baits specifically for indoor or outdoor use.
4. Check, treat, re-check, repeat: It may take several reapplications of bait within a 6-12-month period to kill a little fire ant colony. Recheck with peanut butter regularly and treat with insecticidal bait when necessary.