How many of you wished they would go away?
THE GOOD NEWS:- Fire Ants are leaving.
- “Rasberry Crazy Ants” (in honor of the Texas exterminator that discovered them), a.k.a. "Tawny crazy ants" , and scientifically know as Nylanderia fulva as driving them out.
"I want my Fire Ants back!" is being said by many across Mississippi.
Because these Rasberry crazy ants are much harder to control, and they get into everything.
They get into the insulation in your home, into your electronics, into your wiring.
They will drive you CRAZY!
Here's an excerpt on controlling them.
- Management: What can you do for them?
Many of the typical control tactics for other ants do not provide adequate control of the tawny crazy ant.
Because colonies predominantly nest outdoors, reliance on indoor treatments (see Rasberry Crazy Ant Fact Sheet or YouTube Video) to control these ants foraging inside structures is not effective.
Cultural control: At the foundation of any IPM strategy are cultural control methods beginning with the removal of harborage
such as fallen limbs, rocks, leaf litter, and just about anything sitting on the ground that isn't absolutely necessary.
Cultural methods can also include altering the moisture conditions in a landscape.
Crazy ants prefer humid, wet conditions so reducing the amount of irrigation, repairing leaks, and improving drainage should help.
Avoid spreading this species to new locations: Anything being moved from an infested area should be inspected for ants and treated before transferring it to a new site.
Food sources should be eliminated or managed.
Specifically honeydew producing hemipterans should be managed.
Often, products containing the active ingredient imidaloprid or other systemic neonicotinoid are a good option for hempiterans.
Chemical control: Effective products involved with the treatments are not readily available to the consumer**.
If you suspect your house or property is infested with these ants, call a professional pest control provider.
After treatment, or when making multiple applications over time, piles of dead ants must be swept or moved out of the area in order to treat the surface(s) underneath.
Tawny crazy ant workers are not attracted to most bait products (see B-6099, "Broadcast Baits for Fire Ant Control")
and the most attractive product they are attracted to (Whitmire Advance Carpenter Ant Bait formulation containing abamectin (Label and MSDS), see E-412 "Carpenter Ants") does not offer enough control as a standalone treatment, and should be used in conjunction with contact insecticides.
Maxforce® Granular Insect Bait is also highly attractive but has yet to be tested in the field.
There are treatments available for this ant that offer temporary "buffer zones" using contact insecticides applied to surfaces,
such as those containing acephate, pyrethroid insecticides (bifenthrin, cypermethrin, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothin, permethrin, s-fenvalerate, and others) or fipronil.
These treatments are often breeched within 2-3 months post application.
PCOs need access to an entire infestation in order to achieve an acceptable level of management.
Otherwise, the population will rebound from surrounding, untreated sites within a month.
- **Note for Professional Pest Management Personnel: According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the following products have received expanded use approval through Section 18 Quarantine Exemption from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the control of these ants.
These are only available for use in counties with confirmed infestations of the tawny crazy ant.
See product labels and supplemental labels for specific use directions: This exemption will expire on November 1, 2015.
- Termidor® Section 18 Label
Talstar® Section 18 Label
