Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Farm and Home with Rex Dollar

It is once again that time of year when the fire ants become very active causing them to become more noticeable and a nuisance to everyone.

Last spring in an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of a couple of different baits, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, natural resources specialist Dr. Kelly Loftin and I set out some pasture demonstration plots alongside Highway 67, north of Prescott.

I have received several comments on the effectiveness of that demonstration plot. Those who noticed the demonstration plot commented to me that "whatever we put out really seemed to reduce the amount of ant mounds in that field."

The products that were chosen for use in the demonstration were used because they were the only two that were labeled for use in cattle pasture.

We applied Amdro and Extinguish according to the label directions. At present both baits are labeled for homeowner use and Extinguish is also labeled for garden use.

For additional information concerning the results of this demonstration plot contact the Extension office at 887-2818.

Other baits available on the market include Award, Distance, Rapid Fire Ant Bait and Combat.

Some contact insecticides commercially available include Spectracide Fire Ant Killer, Green Light Fire Ant Killer, Orthene, Diazinon and Delta Dust.

References to commercial products or trade names in this article is not an endorsement of the product by the Cooperative Extension Service.

Kelly Loftin will be the guest speaker at a public fire ant meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, at the Extension office.