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Page 4 The Comfort News Thursday, May 21, 2020
Spring is the time for Texans to ‘two-step’ toward fire ant control It’s as easy as 'one-two' to manage imported red fire ants
The renovated ladies’ room in the Park Pavilion . (Courtesy photo)
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The Two-Step Method is the fire ant control method most preferred by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Now is an ideal time to take
the first step to fire ant
control, according to Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension
Service experts.
“Spring is a good time to
begin your imported red fire
ant control because this is the
time of year when the ants are
searching for food and starting
to build those mounds that
make them much easier easy
to locate,” said Mike
Merchant, AgriLife Extension
urban entomologist.
The Two-Step Method Merchant said the Two-Step
M e t h o d i s A g r i L i f e
Extension’s preferred method
of fire ant control. The first
step involves semi-annual
Continued on page 5
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From page 1
Park Pavilion
broadcast applications of fire
ant bait. The second involves
follow-up treatments of
ind iv idua l mo unds o r
“nuisance” ant colonies, such
as those in sensitive or high-
traffic areas.
“The two-step method is less
labor-intensive, less toxic and
more environmentally friendly
than most other means of do-it
-yourself fire ant control,” he
said.
Step one Merchant said the use of fire
ant bait as the first step is
effective as temperatures
begin to rise and ants begin to
gather forage to feed their new
brood.
“Spring and fall are
particularly good times to
apply baits,” he said. “Once it
gets hot and dry, as during the
summer months, fire ants
become less active and
mounds become less visible as
ants go deeper into the soil.”
Baits also have an advantage
in that users don’t have to find
the fire ant colonies, noted
Robert Puckett, an AgriLife
Extension entomologist.
“Fire ant colonies can be
difficult to locate, especially
over a large area, so using a
bait is less costly in terms of
time and the amount of
product needed for treating
larger areas,” Puckett said.
“With baits, ants pick up the
bait and return it to the nest,
WHIP+ relief could help ag producers
2018, 2019 drought losses may provide economic bridge to COVID-19 relief
Agricultural producers may
find some relief from current
economic pressures by taking
advantage of a U.S.
Department of Agriculture
Farm Service Agency program
designed to provide relief
from 2018 and 2019 natural
disaster losses according to
the Agricultural and Food
Policy Center at Texas A&M
University.
“These days, many
producers are under even more
economic pressure than
usual,” said Bart Fischer, co-
director of the center. “They
are looking for ways to make
upcoming crops profitable in
the midst of persistently low
prices. At the same time, they
are dealing with the financial
ramifications of the COVID-
19 crisis.”
The USDA recently sent out a
news release reminding
producers that they might be
able to find some financial
relief for 2018 and 2019 losses
through the Wildfires and
Hurricanes Indemnity
Program Plus, or WHIP+,
program, which could help
them get through their current
economic crunch.
WHIP+ assistance The Further Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2020,
which provided an additional
$1.5 billion for the
continuation of disaster
assistance, added excessive
moisture and D3 or worse
drought as qualifying losses
for WHIP+ assistance. It also
expanded WHIP+ to include
assistance for crop quality
losses.
“WHIP+ assistance, while it
applies to covering natural
disaster-related losses from
the last two years, could be
very timely for those
producers who qualify and are
in need of some financial
relief at this time,” Fischer
said.
Since March 23, producers
who suffered losses from
drought or excessive moisture
in either or both of those years
could apply for WHIP+
assistance at their local Farm
Service Agency office.
“Texas producers are eligible
if any area of the county in
which their loss occurred was
rated D3 or higher on the U.S.
Drought Monitor during
calendar years 2018 or 2019,”
he said.
Fischer noted that there are a
few notable caveats related to
WHIP+.
“One is that livestock losses
are not covered by WHIP+
since they are covered by
other disaster recovery
programs,” he said. “Another
is that if losses happened in a
county not designated through
the program as a primary
county, they may still be
eligible if the producer can
document the loss was due to
a qualifying disaster. It’s
somewhat ironic that relief
funds tied to one crisis could
be used by producers to help
them get through a different
one, but that’s the reality of it.
By the nature of their work,
farmers are used to uncertainty
and must adjust and adapt to
difficulties. We hope for some
Texas farmers, this will
provide a means for them to
adjust and get some needed
funds during another
challenging time.”
to do this work. The $25,000
grant, which was made
possible through Bandera
E lec t r ic Co o per a t ive ’s
partnership with the Lower
Colorado River Authority,
gave the Chamber the final
means to get the work
d o n e . A p l a q u e
a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e i r
combined efforts in making
the work possible was placed
on the building.
“Looking to the future, there
is still much to do,” said
Solis. “Both the interior and
exterior need to be painted and
the remainder of the roof will
need at tent ion in the
future. Thanks to all who
contributed to the Park Fund
over the last 4 years. This
would not have happened
without the help of many.”
**Make up to $3,000 in
ONLY 11 days!! managing
f i r e w o r k s t a n d N O
INVESTMENT REQUIRED!
J u n e 2 4 -
July 4, mrwfireworks.com to
submit app or 210.622.3788
m-f (21-25)
A plaque commemorating the partnership that allowed the renovations to occur was placed on the Park Pavilion building. (Courtesy photo)
so they do most of the work
for you.”
He said the fire ant bait
concentration is very low
compared to residential
insecticides, The amount of
grains per area going by
recommendations is fairly
low, so it’s not necessary to
use a lot of insecticide.
“The efficacy of baits may
differ, but they all work pretty
well,” he said. “However, the
baits that work faster are also
usually more expensive, so
you have to weigh if the cost
is worth the result.”
Step two “Because fire ant mounds are
most visible this time of year,
especially after a rain, they are
easier to locate in order to do
the second step,” Merchant
said. “This involves treating
t he la r g e s t o r mo s t
troublesome mounds with an
individual mound treatment,
such as a liquid drench or
some form of granular, non-
bait insecticide or dust.”
For fire ant colonies next to
structures or in high-traffic
areas that require a quick
control, the property owner
should take step two and treat
these mounds individually
with a contact insecticide.
Otherwise this step is optional.
“Most contact insecticides
applied directly to the mound
kill the colony in one to two
days,” Puckett said. “If the
area has just a few mounds,
then it may not even be
necessary to apply bait as a
first step.”
He said the most important
message he can give is to
follow label instructions and
not try to mix too little or too
much water if using a liquid
insecticide.
“These products have been
tested for efficacy and safety
at a particular concentration,
so you don’t want to guess at
what may or may not happen
if you vary from instructions,”
he said. “Also, remember to
wear the proper protection
such as gloves and possibly
even safety goggles if you’re
mixing chemicals. Be mindful
of protecting yourself and
protecting the environment.”
Community fire ant control
While the Two-Step Method
can be used successfully by
individual property owners, it
can be even more successful if
p e o p le t h r o u g ho u t a
neighborhood work together
to control fire ant colony
proliferation.
That’s what Wizzie Brown,
AgriLife Extension integrated
pest management specialist in
Travis County, along with
other residents of the Wood
Glen community in Round
Rock have been doing since
2005.
The Wood Glen community
consists of 548 homes as well
as a community park, green
belt and walking trails.
“To my knowledge, this is
t h e l o n g e s t - r u n n i n g
community-wide fire ant
program in the state,” Brown
said. “Neighbors join together
to bait the entire neighborhood
t w i c e a y e a r , a n d
ne ighborhood act ivit ies
include a fire ant information
day during which they learn
about baits and get advice on
the proper application of fire
ant control products.”
Getting the entire community
involved also helps limit the
spread of fire ant activity from
one property to another, she
said. The Wood Glen
c o m m u n i t y r e c e n t l y
coordinated the fire ant bait
broadcasting portion of the
Two-Step Method.
B r o w n s a id s i m i l a r
community-wide fire ant