5 For Friday: This Week’s Link Round-Up

Pest Control Links Round-Up

One Bald Face You Don’t Want at Your BBQ

Bald Face Hornets are notorious for ruining summer barbeques, and such was the case at a neighborhood Memorial Day BBQ recently in Columbus, OH. Read all about it, and what can be done to prevent/remove these hornets and their paper nests. More..

Debunking Home Pest Control Myths

Here are three common pest control misconceptions, debunked by a pest control professional. More…

What Works & What Doesn’t When It Comes To Mosquito Pest Control

Mosquito season is in full swing, and all of us are clamoring for the best mosquito control methods and products as to not contract the deadly West Nile Virus. What works? What doesn’t? More…

When Ants Come Marching In

Ants first send out scouts, looking for discarded food, soda, etc around your home. Once found, the rest of the colony will invade. They are very persistent pests, and will keep coming to your home or yard as long as there is a reason too. More…

Bionic Rats?

Did you know rats have pretty remarkable senses which make them almost seem bionic?! Check out these remarkable rodent traits. More…

Pest Of the Week: Cryptotermes Drywood Termites

Drywood Termite Droppings

Drywood termites are often times referred to as furniture termites because they frequently gorge on wood or timber furniture. After doing so, it is common for homeowners to see small piles of termite droppings (fecal matter). The wood that these termites attack has to have less than 12 percent moisture content. In this perfect Drywood termite environment, huge numbers of termites chew across the wood grain, constructing elaborate tunnels, and chambers in which they live.

Colonies of Drywood Termites are fewer in numbers then other species of termites, with one colony reaching about 1000 strong. Since colonies are fewer in number, it is common to see multiple colonies in one large piece of dry timber.

Cryptotermes Drywood Termites are common throughout all of the Southern United States, but are most prevalent in dry desert areas of the Southwest. Drywood termite infestations need to be addressed with professional termite control, as they can be very damaging to a home or property.

Related articles

• Details about Termites
• Best Pest Control Methods
• Keep Termites and Bed Bugs out of Your Home

Anthony Ball

fire_ant_worker1 (Photo credit: bart_drees)

The following article is intended for pest control professionals and homeowners alike, who are in need of some answers when it comes to dealing with fire ants. If you are a homeowner who is battling fire ants on your property, please seek the assistance of an ant control professional before attempting to exterminate these dangerous ants.

Fire Ants

The Red Imported Fire ant is one of the worst ant pests in the Southern United States in terms of human health, property damage, and environmental damage. If you are a pest control professional in states like: Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, and North Carolina; you likely take frequent calls from homeowners that are battling these nasty pests.

Pest Control For Fire Ants

Unfortunately, treating fire ants isn’t as easy as heading to your local hardware store and picking up an aerosol pesticide to spray on a mound. Over-the-counter sprays will only kill a few of the ants. The remaining ants will leave the nest and return when the pesticide dissipates.

Some pest control operators will only sprinkle an insecticide over a mound. This is ineffective in controlling the whole colony because most fire ant mounds have multiple queens; and colonies may be spread over unseen areas and across multiple properties.

Texas A&M University has developed a couple of effective fire ant control strategies, developed through years of research. They include a one step wide area treatment or two step bait and mound treatment. The two step method works best in fully infested areas (five or more mounds per quarter-acre of yard).

(Solenopsis invicta) This photo shows a colony of reddish brown fire ants. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One Step Wide Area Treatment

If a homeowner is only dealing with a few fire ants, this wide area treatment is effective. It may require cooperation from other homeowners, as the infesting ants may be coming from multiple properties.

Using this method, a pest control professional distributes a granular product containing Fipronil over a property once a year, preferably in the early spring. Spread two pounds of Fipronil per 1000 square feet. Fipronil granular products, like TopChoice and Taurus G, are slow-acting but have season-long control. Best results will not be seen for six weeks after application. Treat a property evenly, and lightly water after the granules have been applied.

If the Fipronil granules are distributed after April, an additional application of fast acting fire ant baits may be necessary to reduce the fire ant population. The fire ants will be very active long before the Fipronil ever kicks in.

It’s important to note that this fire ant extermination method is ineffective a controlling other species of foraging ants, as it’s not a barrier treatment.

Fire Ants (Photo credit: Marufish)

Two Step Bait & Mound Treatment

The two step bait and mound treatment approach has been proven effective at controlling fire ants, and is ideal for highly infested areas. During the first step of treatment, a pest control professional will distribute a fire ant bait insecticide over a property in the early spring or late fall. A few weeks after the baits have been applied to a property; the pest professional will treat each mound with an approved mound drench, granule, or dust pesticide.

Baits

One of the more environmentally sound ways to treat fire ants, is with baits. These baits are a combination of insecticide and corn. A fire ant worker will find the bait, bring it back to the nest, and share it with his friends and the queen. After ingesting the poisoned food, the ants will die.

Look for fire ant bait with one or more of the following active ingredients: indoxacarb, abamectin, s-methoprene, hydromethylnon, or pyriproxyfen. Put these baits down evenly throughout the property, when the ground is dry, and when you’re not expecting rain for the next 48 hours. Late afternoons and evening work best for baiting, as that’s when fire ants are actively foraging. Make sure the bait is fresh, and do not mix it with other substances like fertilizer.

Mound Treatments

Texas Fire Ant Nest in October (Photo credit: gurdonark)

A week or two after the application of fire ant bait, a pest control professional must chemically treat each individual ant mound with dusts, drenches, or granules.

Liquid drenches generally eliminate ants in mounds within a few hours and leave little surface residue after application. Use a long injection probe to apply Temprid SC, Tempo or Suspend under high pressure into mounds.

Granular products are rather fast acting. They require putting granules on and around the mound and then sprinkling one to two gallons of water on without alarming the fire ants inside the mound. Maxforce Complete Granular Insect Bait provides fast knockdown and long-term control.

Ant Control

As previously mentioned; if you are a property owner who is battling fire ants, please seek the assistance of an ant control professional before attempting to exterminate these dangerous ants.

Read more about fire ant control methods at: http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/

Related articles

• Red Fire Ant Social Structure Associated With Newly Discovered ‘Social Chromosome”
• dear ant family from the colony outside my house
• Dealing With Biting and Stinging Insects by K.F.

Anthony Ball