There’s No Quick Fix for Fire Ant Problem

The infestation of venomous red fire ants recently discovered across a 30-mile swath of Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties is probably too well-established to eradicate and likely will cost millions of dollars to manage, officials said Tuesday.

Just the sight of more than a dozen mounds of the aggressive ants in Orange County parks, median strips and fields convinced experts that a quick and easy solution to the infestation may be out of the question.

Officials fear the imported pest could seriously damage the state’s nursery industry and may require significant lifestyle changes for homeowners in ant-infested areas.

In Texas, one of 11 states widely infested by the ants, government, private industry and homeowners spend an estimated $300 million a year combating them.

“At the least, nurseries will have to spend money in the short term to keep this pest out of their stocks. At the worst, this could affect the reputation of California nurseries, which is among the best in the world,” said Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner Cato Fiksdal, looking on with his counterparts from San Bernardino and Orange counties as entomologists dug eagerly at ant mounds in a Trabuco Canyon subdivision.

The ants swarm when disturbed, and their painful stings cause blisters that last for weeks. They can short circuit air conditioners, traffic signals and electrical wiring. For people allergic to the ant venom, the stings can be fatal.

So far, the most notable ant-related swarm has involved the media, with television and newspaper reporters teeming around unsuspecting homeowners and scientists. On Tuesday, a television reporter who stomped on one of their mounds was stung in mid-interview.

Still, the ant threat is real enough to worry those who make a living studying them.

“My first guess is that eradication could be very difficult, if not impossible, but there’s a good chance of doing some fairly effective suppression,” said Bart Drees, professor of entomology at Texas A&M; University. Drees is one of the country’s leading experts in the aggressive species of ants that has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage across the southern United States.

The initial assessment by experts convened by the California Department of Food and Agriculture came in advance of an official series of recommendations the experts are expected to release today.

Officials at the California Assn. of Nurserymen, which represents 3,400 nursery professionals across the state, did not return phone calls.

State officials will present the experts’ recommendations at a summit to be held in Sacramento in the next two months, said Bob Wynn, the Food and Agriculture official who organized the panel of ant experts from Florida and Texas. Representatives are being invited from a broad range of state and local agencies, environmental groups and industries that could be affected by the ant infestation.

Since Oct. 9, when more than 40 mounds estimated to contain about 300,000 ants each were discovered in a field and adjacent park in the Robinson Ranch planned community near Trabuco Canyon, state officials have discovered hundreds of mounds in residential areas of Cypress, Coto de Caza, Los Alamitos and Mission Viejo. Mounds have also been spotted in a residential area of El Monte, in Los Angeles County, and in a nursery in the Riverside County city of Indio.

The estimated dozen previously reported infestations of red fire ants in the state were contained to nurseries and orchards in isolated agricultural areas, and were quickly eradicated. The ants found recently are in suburban and urban residential areas across a broad territory, making the problem harder to control.

Robert Dowell, primary state entomologist for the Department of Food and Agriculture, said officials surveying the ant populations believe many of the colonies have been established for as long as four years. He said it is too early to determine precisely how widespread the infestation is.

So far, the largest concentration has been found in south Orange County, where well-irrigated subdivisions, parks and sports fields provide prime environments for the moisture-loving ants to live. Officials believe there may be thousands of mounds in a 10-square-mile area of unincorporated county land near Mission Viejo.

Officials believe the pests may have come into the area on trees and shrubs imported by a local nursery and then planted in housing developments. County officials said they have asked several area nurseries to stop shipments of plants until experts assess the extent of the problem.

Orange County Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Steve Hill said the agency is fielding 30 to 50 calls a day from homeowners who believe they have spotted the ant species on their property. He said the agency relays the concerns to state officials, and warns callers not to let children play in the ant-infested areas.

“We have kids and that’s where they play,” said Curt Yoder, referring to a field near his Robinson Ranch home that is pocked with the ant mounds. “That’s the one little area they like to explore, so we had to tell them not to play in there for awhile.”

Yoder said he wasn’t overly concerned about the ant infestation. “Once [officials] know it’s a major problem they’ll take care of it,” Yoder said. “I can’t imagine they’d let them survive here if it’s that bad.”

But entomologists warn that eradicating the fire ants is not so easy. To suppress them, officials may apply insect growth regulators to the ant mounds. The granular substance makes queen ants sterile. Dowell said the substance is harmless to other species.

To work, however, the substance must be spread on every ant mound, and it must take effect before ants from the mounds can mate and establish new colonies.

To the untrained eye the red fire ants are indistinguishable from thousands of other ant species. But red fire ants multiply faster than their cousins, and gradually use their venom to kill off other ant species. Deeply territorial, they swarm on anything that causes vibrations within several feet of their mounds.

“If we don’t address this, then we’ll have them across the state,” said state Assemblyman Bill Campbell (R-Orange), standing by as the entomologists spread dirt swarming with thousands of ants across a sheet of cardboard, looking for the female reproductive ants capable of mating and establishing new colonies.

One let a few dozen of the tiny creatures swarm across his sneaker, shaking them off before they could grab at his skin with their mandibles and inject their venom.

“We’ve got to let parents know so they can keep their kids from playing in these areas,” Campbell said. “We’ve got to be prepared to introduce emergency legislation to deal with this if necessary.”

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Ant Infestation

Although fire ants have been eradicated in some of the state’s central counties, agriculture experts say it’ll be tougher to eliminate the pests in the Southland because they’re more widespread.

Red Imported Fire Ant

Size: 1/16 to 1/4-inch long

Distinguishing marks: Bright red head and middle body

Home: South America

How they arrived: Probably in the soil used as ships’ ballast; they entered through the port of Mobile, Ala., between 1935 and 1940.

Residence: Mounds up to 18 inches tall and 6 feet below ground, with a 2-foot diameter.

Colony population: Around 300,000

Sting cycle: The painful sting usually leaves a white pustule within 24 hours.

Sting treatment: Watch for swelling, itching or redness. Also watch for signs of allergic reaction, including shortness of breath, thickening of the tongue, sweating and the like. If you have what could be an allergic reaction, seek medical attention.

Sting lethality: In rare instances, such as allergic reactions, sting may prove fatal.

Fighting them: Consult a pest control specialist or nursery.

Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture.