Learn what the professionals mean when they use fire ant control terms such as management, eradication, integrated pest management (IPM), natural products, fermentation products, organics, and active ingredients.
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What Does Control Mean? Can't I Just Get Rid of Fire Ants Forever?
Like cockroaches, imported fire ants are resourceful, resilient and adapt well to adverse conditions, which makes eradication difficult to achieve. However, there are some very effective management programs available for suppressing existing populations of fire ants and curtailing the spread of new mounds and colonies. To better understand and implement these programs, it’s helpful to know the meaning behind some common words used in the battle against imported fire ants.
Eradication
For biologists, the term eradication is reserved to denote the complete elimination of a species from a geographical area. The classic example of a successful eradication program is the elimination of the screwworm fly.
Unfortunately, to date there has not been a successful, scientifically documented eradication program for the imported fire ant. The large-scale attempt in the southern U.S. during the 1950’s-1980’s failed. However, current efforts in Brisbane, Australia by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries are showing great promise.
For more information:
Integrated Pest Management
The term integrated pest management describes the currently accepted scientific approach to managing organisms considered to be pests, including insects, diseases, weeds and rodents. In this context, the term management means the manipulation of a population to either increase, decrease or maintain population levels. For animal husbandry, for instance, management often implies increasing numbers of livestock. In the case of pests, we are interested in decreasing the pest population if that population is above the level that causes harm. The term "integrated" implies that all management tools are considered. Our knowledge of the pest's biology, natural enemies, and environment are considered in order to decide which combination of management tools to use. Management tools include mechanical, cultural, biological, physical or chemical control.
Organic
Organic can be a confusing term. Organic is legally defined in federal Organic Certification Programs or state programs, such as the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), as a condition where products and treatments allowed for organic use are specifically listed for the production of animal or plant products in agricultural production for commercial sale. Most synthetic pesticides are forbidden in organic agricultural production.
USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP), which develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards for organic agricultural products, maintains a legal definition of organic production as “a production system that is managed in accordance with the Act and regulations in this part to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.”
The above definition applies to agricultural production. However, in written materials and labeling standards for products used in non-food landscape or ornamental plantings and in homes and buildings, the term “organic” is not legally defined; so, there are varying opinions about what constitutes “organic” fire ant control.
For more information on organic:
- eXtension FAQ #1110
- Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Project Fact Sheet 012, A Review of Organic and Other Alternative Methods of Fire Ant Control
- Organic Fire Ant Treatments
- Landscape IPM, Definition of Organic
Natural Products
Natural products are made from plants, animals, or microbes. Pyrethrins are natural plant derived or "botanical" insecticides that come from a special kind of daisy. Products containing pyrethrins, however, often have the synthetic pesticide, piperonyl butoxide or PBO, added to the formulation as a synergist to make the pyrethrins work better. Another example are spinosads that are derived from a soil micro-organism.
Fermentation Products
Some insecticide ingredients such as abamectin and spinosad are produced by micro-organisms. The microbes are cultured (grown in a prepared medium) and exude the active ingredients, which are then isolated for formulation as insecticide active ingredients. Parasitic nematodes are also cultured. However, as multicellular organisms, they are not regulated as insecticides by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Active Ingredient
The active ingredient (a.i.) in an is the material in the pesticide formulation that actually destroys the target pest or performs the desired function. Pesticide labels are required by law to show the active ingredient and its percentage. Source: UC IPM Online, Finding Active Ingredients on a Pesticide Label
Control
The term control can mean different things to different people, in different contexts. For commercial or professional pest control advertising and promotion, the term is commonly used to imply that a pest population will be eliminated or exterminated. That elimination or extermination is for a limited, but often predictable time frame.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which registers synthetic as well as natural or organic pesticide products for use in the United States, has specific implications that use of the pesticide product treatment will result in 90% reduction of imported fire ant colonies dwelling in ant mounds in the treated area.
Fire ant killer
The term fire ant killer describes products or treatments, including natural or synthetic pesticides or insecticides, biological control agents or natural enemies, or devices that use heat, cold, electricity, microwaves, or other non-chemical means, to kill ants.
The term fire ant killer does not indicate whether the treatment kills just worker ants or foragers outside the nest, or whether it kills an entire colony consisting of workers, brood (eggs, larvae and pupae), and queen or queens. It also does not specify whether the effects are for just one mound or for a population of ant colonies in a given area.
