ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : All’s Fair in War on Fire Ants

The latest news from the fire ant front is again disheartening. Clearly it’s a problem that is likely to be with Orange County for some time.

Fire ants have been a problem in the Southeastern United States for more than half a century. But California, home to an assortment of natural disasters, had been spared until several years ago.

This year the insects turned up in Orange County. They can devastate crops and inflict painful stings, especially on children.

Orange County officials began using poison on fire-ant hills last spring. After initial success, the ants reappeared in force, especially in county-run parks.

A county official said initial results of a poison bombardment of the ants at O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon were promising. But several weeks ago the ants returned. Laguna Niguel and Clark regional parks also have experienced infestations.

The state has put more emphasis on a different tactic. State agriculture workers put contaminated corn meal in the path of worker ants, relying on them to pass it on to the queen ant of a colony. The queen eats the corn, her eggs become sterile, and the colony vanishes. Eventually. It can take six weeks or more to destroy a colony.

State crews have sprinkled the corn meal around fire ant mounds at shopping centers and parks in several areas, including Rancho Santa Margarita and Coto de Caza.

Orange County has spent about $100,000 since February to identify the extent of the fire ant problem and poison the ants. It’s money that had to be spent. The state also is facing up to the problem, spending nearly $9 million this year to oversee eradication efforts. That reflects a realistic understanding of the potential problem if the ant infestation spreads beyond its current territory, which already includes Los Angeles and Riverside counties.

The state Agriculture Department is conducting a public education campaign that will include teaching elementary school students about the dangers of stings, which in extreme cases can cause death. People who are allergic to bee stings are more likely to suffer problems from a fire ant bite than are those without such allergies.

The reappearance of the ants, the different methods of fighting them, and the inability to rid Southeastern states of the problem indicate the difficulty. Quick solutions cannot be expected. But a coordinated fight against the insects, using as many methods as are feasible, may prove successful and minimize the problem for the county.