O.C. Puts Fire Ant Battle to a Vote

The Orange County Vector Control District on Thursday authorized a direct-mail ballot measure giving property owners the chance to reestablish funding for the red imported fire ant eradication program.

The campaign to rid the county of fire ants -- known for fierce bites that leave painful, itchy welts -- was dropped in February after the state stopped contributing funds and district officials said they could not support the program alone.

The ballot will ask property owners whether they want to pay an annual tax of about $6 to maintain existing vector control services and resurrect the fire ant program.

At their next meeting in May, vector district trustees will consider specific services and the exact tax amount.

Ballots will be sent to property owners in early June and must be returned by July 22, said Mike Hearst, a spokesman for the district. If the benefit assessment tax is approved, it will be added to property tax bills mailed in August.

Trustee Carolyn V. Cavecche said she is typically against raising taxes but felt it necessary to vote with the 24-3 majority.

“This is a public health and environmental issue, and this is something that a public agency needs to take care of,” she said.

The plan was strongly opposed by pest control operators, who charge from $50 to $100 a visit for fire ant treatment.

“I don’t see how they can re-create the infrastructure for [the fire ant] program for $6 a year,” said Arthur B. Cook, who represents the Pest Control Operators of California.

“We’d like to work out an arrangement that involves some type of sharing of the workload” with the county.

Vector control officials argued that a countywide treatment program would be cheaper and more effective than services offered by pest control operators.

“Residents would not only be paying for treating their own property, but also adjacent properties,” Hearst said. “The pesticide used by private operators will kill fire ants, but not the entire colony.”

In a recent survey, more than 70% of 1,800 property owners said they would pay a tax of $3 to $9 a year to increase funding for vector control services, including fire ant control.