In article ,
"Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Didn't mean to digress from the live-kill on fawns issue. Excuse my
insensitivity.

It's ok. :-) Unless you have actually worked with one, it's difficult to
imagine the horror.


At this point, we don't know all the potentials for the rasberry ant
altering the native habitat. So, I reserve my own judgment on that end.
--
Dave

On that we can both agree...

I just hate fire ants so!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein

"Omelet" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Didn't mean to digress from the live-kill on fawns issue. Excuse my
insensitivity.

It's ok. :-) Unless you have actually worked with one, it's difficult to
imagine the horror.


At this point, we don't know all the potentials for the rasberry ant
altering the native habitat. So, I reserve my own judgment on that end.
--
Dave

On that we can both agree...

I just hate fire ants so!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein

Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building
mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply
build underground and disperse the unearthed soil about to hide their
location. Stealthy versions, apparently. Now, that scares me. No, not
kidding.

Wonder how long it will take entomologists and exterminators to express that
to the public in general?
--
Dave

Memorial day:
In honor for those who served and
died for your freedom of speech, exercise
that right where you fear repercussion
the most for your voiced opinion.

In article ,
"Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building
mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply
build underground and disperse the unearthed soil about to hide their
location. Stealthy versions, apparently. Now, that scares me. No, not
kidding.

Wonder how long it will take entomologists and exterminators to express that
to the public in general?
--
Dave

They will generally mound a little right before a rain...
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein

In article ,
Elliot Richmond wrote:

On Fri, 23 May 2008 11:33:43 -0500, Omelet
wrote:
I just hate fire ants so!

Me too. But control of Solenopsis invicta is within our reach, if not
quite within our grasp. The phorid fly approach still shows great
promise, although it will be a decade or so before there are enough of
them out there to do any good. For local control, both Amdro and Logic
still work and are environmentally close to benign.

I use Amdro mostly, and beneficial Nematodes.
I was unaware that Phorid flies ate fire ants... I try to discourage
those as they tend to get into crops of Oyster mushrooms and other
edibles.


On the other hand,the raspberry ant, Paratrenicha sp. (near pubens),
is apparently very difficult to control. The man who first noticed
them basically says that he hates it when he gets a call about them
because he knows the caller will be disappointed.

And, while they have no stinger, they are far from harmless. They suck
the moisture from plants, feed on beneficial insects such as ladybugs
(ladybird beetles) and eat the hatchlings of the highly endangered
At****er prairie chicken.


Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher

Do poison baits work on them?
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein

http://www.utexas.edu/news/2006/09/27/biology/

http://www.bugsaway.com/phoridfly.htm

--
Dave
"Elliot Richmond" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 May 2008 20:36:45 -0500, Omelet
wrote:

I was unaware that Phorid flies ate fire ants...

There is a species that is parasitic on fire ants exclusively. When in
balance, the ants are controlled because as soon as a fly appears,
they dive underground. So their foraging is limited.


Do poison baits work on them?

Good question. I do not know. The colonies do have multiple queens, so
that would make targeted baits less effective.



Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher

In article ,
Elliot Richmond wrote:

On Wed, 28 May 2008 20:36:45 -0500, Omelet
wrote:

I was unaware that Phorid flies ate fire ants...

There is a species that is parasitic on fire ants exclusively. When in
balance, the ants are controlled because as soon as a fly appears,
they dive underground. So their foraging is limited.

Ah! Cool. I'll have to look for that.
I've had good luck with beneficial nematodes. They are more effective
against fleas than fire ants, but I'm not having to fight them as hard
as I used to. Of course, whenever any appear, I keep Amdro on hand. g



Do poison baits work on them?

Good question. I do not know. The colonies do have multiple queens, so
that would make targeted baits less effective.

Not if, like Amdro and fire ants, they feed the bait to the queens.
Then there is Logic, a sterilant.



Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein

In article ,
"Dioclese" NONE wrote:

http://www.utexas.edu/news/2006/09/27/biology/

http://www.bugsaway.com/phoridfly.htm

Thanks!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein

On May 25, 7:05 pm, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building
mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply
build underground and disperse the unearthed soil about to hide their
location. Stealthy versions, apparently. Now, that scares me. No, not
kidding.

Wonder how long it will take entomologists and exterminators to express that
to the public in general?

And here I thought I hadn't found any mounds because it has been too
dry this summer for the nasty little f*cks to make a living...Fleas,
fleas I got in spades, but nary a fireant heap have I seen
since...April andmaybe earlier.

In article
,
" wrote:

On May 25, 7:05 pm, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Regarding fireants, have noticed a new behavior. They are not building
mounds any more. A few locals I discussed this noticed same. They simply
build underground and disperse the unearthed soil about to hide their
location. Stealthy versions, apparently. Now, that scares me. No, not
kidding.

Wonder how long it will take entomologists and exterminators to express that
to the public in general?

And here I thought I hadn't found any mounds because it has been too
dry this summer for the nasty little f*cks to make a living...Fleas,
fleas I got in spades, but nary a fireant heap have I seen
since...April andmaybe earlier.

If you have fleas, you probably have no fire ants.

Eating fleas is about the only thing they are useful for.

Beneficial nematodes DO work for fleas, but not if the soil gets too
dry. They are best dispersed in early spring.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein