Horticulture Hotline 07/27/20
Bill Lamson-Scribner
Ok. After a little diversion due to environmental
conditions, I’m back to the stinging, biting insects. That is the good thing
about writing a local column, I can write about issues that are right here in
the Lowcountry. With the way things are going, I’m sure an article about
armyworms is next.
Believe it or not….fire ants are very easy to kill and
manage! You will not eradicate them;
however, you can manage them. There are
many products on the market that will kill fire ants. Some products are more economical if you have
large areas to treat, others do a great job at just killing fire ants, and
other products will kill other insects as well as fire ants.
If you have a large area (16 or more acres) the bait
products are very economical (less than 15 dollars an acre) and effective. If you have a smaller area, you can treat one
acre for less than 25.00. Depending on
the amount of rain that we get this summer and fall, you may have to retreat in
six months if you notice any activity.
Some bait products are designed to kill fire ants as well as other ants
that are in your yard (carpenter ants, argentine ants).
It is best to spread the bait over the entire area once the
soil surface temperature reaches 70 degrees.
You also want to keep the bait dry for 24 hours, so watch the
forecast. The ants must be actively
foraging to pick up the bait. You can
determine this by throwing some greasy potato chips or some of the bait itself
on the ground and come back in 10 minutes to one half hour and see if the ants
are carrying away the bait or chips. The
bait products advantage is that it is low cost and effective.
Products containing bifenthrin (Bug Blaster) will give you
long term control of ants as well. With
Bug Blaster you don’t need to worry about rain, or whether the ants are
foraging. Dr. Tim Davis noted that he
was getting at least eight months of control with bifenthrin. Bifenthrin products are best applied over the
entire yard. Bug Blaster’s biggest
advantage is that not only will you kill fire ants, but you will kill army
worms, sod web worms, fleas, chinch bugs, ticks (Lime disease), mole crickets,
and many others.
There are many choices on the market; the biggest thing is
determining which product fits your needs. Extinguish Plus and Advion Fire Ant
Bait are two of my favorite bait products. Bug Blaster is a good contact
product. Notice I only recommend treating the entire yard instead of chasing
them around with mound treatments (stinky,white powder).
When it has been hot and dry, fire ants can be tricky and
not so visible because their mound is underground. Don’t be fooled! They still
bite!
Do you have areas of your lawn that look like someone mowed
it with a dull mower blade running at half speed? Do blades of your grass have
bite marks eaten out of them? Do you have army worms or sod web worms? Bug Blaster
will get them too.
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
Bill Lamson-Scribner
can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply.
Possum’s has three locations 481
Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant
(971-9601), 3325 Business Circle
in North Charleston
(760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd,
in Charleston
(766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum’s location, or visit us at
http://www.possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “ The Garden
Clinic”, Saturdays from noon to 1:00, on 1250 WTMA (The Big Talker). The Horticulture Hotline is
available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com.
