[ SHOWGSD-L ] BENEFICIAL NEMATODES KILL FLEAS and FIREANTS
- From: "Doc Zoe" <wynsum@xxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:14:24 -0400
YOU BET YOUR GARDEN
www.youbetyourgarden.org/
Basic Ant control: ( USE THIS AROUND THE HOUSE )
But the best solution is to put out baited traps that contain a low dose o=
f boric acid. The ants
take the bait back to the nest, where the slow acting poison=97very toxic =
to some insects,
almost non-toxic to us mammals=97can kill the entire colony. Here=92s a d=
etailed description of a
pet-safe, ant-deadly trap design from the BIRC:
FIREANTS
Worms Enlisted To Fight Fire Ants
For years fire ants have plagued East Texas
The Huntsville Item, Saturday, November 26, 1994
BY MELONY CLOSS
For years fire ants have plagued East Texas, stinging people and swelling =
tree trunks with their activity but nature has provided a neme=ADsis for t=
his pest in the form of a par=ADasitic, microscopic worm.
Nernatodes =97 round, unsegmented threadlike creatures less than half a mi=
llimeter long =97 are the answer to fire ant control. A groundbreaking soi=
l treatment called ANTidote containing the nematodes was formulated to see=
k o
ut and destroy fire ant larvae and queens.
=93I think it=92s the biggest discovery of the 20th Century with the way i=
t kills the fire ants,=94 said Ginger Hanna, the owner of Gulf Coast Biolo=
gical Controls, 366 FM 2550, in Huntsville.
Hanna, after doing field work in her yard for a Pennsylvania nemat=ADode r=
esearcher; found that pouring a solution of water and ANTidote onto the pi=
les in her yard turned fire ant dwellings into ghost mounds.
The nematodes migrate through the ant tunnels invading the fire ant queens=
and larvae. They release a toxin that kills the ants by physical damage =
and infection. Once the larva is depleted, the colony members die of eit
her starvation or infection.
=93The ants try to escape the infection and scatter,=94 Hanna said. =93Th=
ey begin to move the lar=ADvae to other areas of the mound so they won=92=
t get infected, but what they don=92t realize is that they are carrying th=
e nematodes
on their backs infecting the whole mound.=94
Once the ants determine that the mound is unsafe, they try to rebuild with=
little =93kicker=94 mounds, but they are so sick with the infection that =
they die before completion..
=93All they know to do is build,=94 said Hanna, =93and they=92re build=ADi=
ng while they die. My whole yard is a graveyard.=94
Once the ants are infected, they do not bite because their main concern is=
to rebuild. When the ants bring the large queen larvae to the surface, a=
major infection has set in.
Hanna began testing on August 8 in her yard, and since the flood in Octobe=
r, the nema=ADtodes spread to a field near her house, since they flourish =
in moist weather. Now most of the mounds have been eradicated and all tha=
t
are left are nymphs, smaller ants that without adult ant care will die.
The way fire ants make them=ADselves visible is by building gigantic mound=
s, especially around tree trunks and stumps. They dig up the soil from its=
fibrous root system and hold on the roots. When it rains, the trees rece=
i
ve none of the water because there is no soil left around the roots to abs=
orb it, causing the trees to yellow.
=93It=92s not natural to have trees in east Texas swelling like they are a=
nd it=92s because of the fire ant activity inside,=94 said Hanna.
Most of the swelling in the trees in her yard has gone down and the soil s=
urrounding them is level once again, but there is one tree where the left =
side is still swollen.
The Gulf Coast Biological Center was given an Environmental Protection Age=
ncy Pesticide
Producing number, which gives Hanna the authority to produce the pesti=ADc=
ide.
Gaiyla Mutton, the manager of UPA Apartments, used ANTidote to control the=
fire ant problem
they had in the yards.
=93She applied it in the latter part of September and you could see the di=
fference immediately=94 she
said. They we getting into the air conditioners, but they=92re still dying=
.=94
Paula Bear, who is employed at American Bank in Huntsville, is another sat=
isfied customer.
=931 had quite a few mounds in my yard and around my trees and she applied=
it when she first
started testing around August or September,=94 she said. =93Now we can wa=
lk around barefoot. I
think it=92s worth a try especially if you have children or pets.=94
Treatment is about $50 for rural areas and $25 for residen=ADtial areas. =
It lasts for a year or more,
and the nematodes spread.
=93People should not wait for their neighbors to get a treatment and hope =
it will spread to their
yards. They should get their own and we can have control faster=94 said =
Hanna.
ANTidote is not available in the stores and can only be pur=ADchased in Hu=
ntsville from Hanna, but
one pest control busi=ADness in Houston, Nettles Exterminating Company Inc=
., has the nematodes
as well.
=93We found out about ANTidote by reading ant article in a maga=ADzine men=
tioning Ginger,=94 said
Don Nettles, the owner. =93The non-chemical approach is the wave of the fu=
ture and she=92s ahead
with her product lab.=94
With the use of nematodes, chemical toxins are becoming obsolete.
=93We don=92t have to use the highly toxic materials anymore so it=92s muc=
h safer,=94 said Nettles. =91It
may take more time, but if the result is control, then that=92s what we=92=
re looking for.=94
Nettles said that there was a similar product to control fleas, but this i=
s the first time that a
successful method of fire ant control has been introduced.
1. Mix together: 3 cups water; 1 cup sugar; and four teaspoons of boric=
acid. DO NOT USE
MORE BORIC ACID THAN THIS! A higher dose would kill the ants immediately; =
and you need
them to live long enough to get the bait back to the main colony. If you =
see a lot of dead ants
around your traps, you used too much!
2. Get six jars with tight fitting screw-cap lids; punch some holes in =
the lids with a Phillips
head screwdriver. Loosely pack the jars about half full with cotton balls =
or batting, then saturate
the cotton with your boric acid sugar water.
3. Screw the lids on tight and draw =91skull and crossbones=92 on the j=
ar, just to be safe.
4. Leave the jars out where you see ants (d=92uh!). Most importantly, d=
o NOT kill any ants from
here on in=97you have to let them travel to and from the jars safely so th=
ey can take the bait back
to the colony.
5. Not all ants are sugar-suckers; some species prefer protein. If your=
ants aren=92t attracted to
the sugary bait, make a new batch using cat or dog food. If you have carpe=
nter ants, use wet,
rotting wood. Experiment with the boric acid levels until you get the dose=
right.
Doc Zoe
Wynsum http://wynsumgsd.com
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