April 07, 2003

EXTENSION ENCOURAGES TEXANS TO BAIT FOR ANTS IN APRIL
Writer: Lorri Jones, 281-855-9927
Contact: Paul Nester, 281-855-5600

HOUSTON -- Spring brings warm humid air, showers to wet the soil in flower beds and yards, and perfect conditions for attracting fire ants.

The cool winter months keep fire ants deep in the ground, and the spring is the ideal time for imported fire ants to begin working their mounds and causing problems.

Fire ants like to nest in open, sunny yards that are mowed and watered regularly. Everyone knows where to find them: in flower beds, at the base of trees, between sidewalk cracks and next to building foundations. Imported fire ants travel from yard to yard, and easily disperse across longer distances through periodic mating flights.

Texas Cooperative Extension encourages Texans to manage the fire ants in their yards with a recommended fire ant treatment program. One way is to bait their yard twice a year, usually September and April with a fire ant bait product. Extension's Imported Red Fire Ant Management Program has designated April for a Spring Fling, focusing on providing education and organizing community-wide treatment programs.

To avoid simply “herding” fire ants from one yard to another, Extension recommends that neighbors cooperate and the whole subdivision baits at the same time. These community-wide treatments are safer for the environment because less pesticide is actually used to gain control of the ants.

For further information on fire ant management, using fire ant bait products, or other products labeled for the control of fire ants or organizing a community-wide treatment program in your neighborhood, contact Paul Nester, Extension agent for integrated pest management, or visit the Texas Fire Ant Management Plan web site at http://fireant.tamu.edu .

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