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

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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

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J u n e 2 4 -

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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