Crittenden County joins 43 counties under fire ant alert

Dangerous incects migrating north from southern states

A federal Imported Fire Ant Quarantine is in effect for dozens of Arkansas counties, including Crittenden County.

The quarantine is needed to prevent the artificial movement of these invasive ants to non-infested areas. The movement of regulated items from quarantined to non-quarantined areas is restricted unless specific actions are taken to ensure the regulated items are fireant- free. Regulated items can move freely within the quarantine area. The list of regulated items include:

• Nursery stock with soil or potting media

• Grass sod

• Baled hay stored in contact with the soil

• Baled straw stored in contact with the soil

• Soil

• Used soil-moving equipment.

There are now 43 Arkansas counties included in the current federal quarantine area, according to Kelly Loftin, extension entomologist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The USDA notes that two species of Imported Fire Ants were introduced into the United States from South America at the port of Mobile, Alabama. Both species probably came to the port in soil used as ballast in cargo ships.

Today, fire ants infest more than 367,000,000 acres in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Puerto Rico. The black imported fire ant, Solenopsis richteri Forel, arrived around 1918, and the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, in the late 1930s.

Loftin has spent years studying methods for managing the pests and teaching Arkansans how to protect their families, farms, and themselves from this invasive species.

Arkansas wasn t the only state to see an expansion of the quarantine, Loftin added. Three counties were added in North Carolina, one in Oklahoma, and five in Virginia.

The additions are in response to imported fire ant surveys conducted by state regulators in coordination with the U.S.

Department of Agriculture.

USDA announced the expansion in June.

Agriculture is at risk from red imported fire ants for several reasons. These ants will feed on the buds and fruits of numerous crop plants, especially corn, soybeans, and okra, Paul Shell, plant inspection and quarantine manager for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, added in the release. Large nests located in fields interfere with and damage equipment during cultivation and har-

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vesting.

Additional information, including interactive maps, are available through USDA s Animal and Plant Health Inspection service are at: /www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis /ourfocus/plantheatlh/plantdiseases/

Find information specific to Arkansas on the fire ant and other quarantines here: https://www.agriculture.ark ansas.gov/plantindustries/ regulatory-section/ quarantines/.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

They are also on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu.