03-28-2015, 04:13 PM
quote:
Originally posted by ericlp
So tango really doesn't work now? Maybe mix a stronger bait formula? Add more peanut oil or something to attract them to it more? I wonder why it stopped working?
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I don't know that Tango ever worked. The ant lab never provided any scientific studies suggesting that it did, and when it came down to eradication on the other islands, the "go to" solution was something completely different than Tango.
The ingredient in Tango is safe in nearly any situation (one of the ant lab articles even says that its safe in drinking water).
My guess is that they were tasked with coming up with an effective safe solution. They came up with a safe solution.
But when the LFA started infesting Maui and Oahu, suddenly gears have shifted and a "new" chemical that has been there all along suddenly is fast-tracked for use in LFA in Hawaii. I'd like to think that its coincidence.
But to answer your question, in my email correspondence with the ant lab about the bait, I asked the exact same question about the oil. The response:
"We tested a variety of oils including peanut oil, and found that safflower oil and corn oil were consistently good. Peanut oil is a lot more expensive but not any better".
I don't know if the problem was with the bait. I think the problem is that Tango is not an insecticide, its a hormone inhibitor, and LFA are well documented for using a combination of sexual and asexual reproduction methods. The hormone inhibitor is supposed to make the queens less fertile and the pupae less likely to develop. Sounds great, but not the option they chose to use on the other islands.
I don't want anybody to misinterpret that I'm suggesting the ant lab wasn't doing everything they possibly could. I think they were. There are a lot of laws and regulations about using insecticides and I know their hands are tied about what they are allowed to research with and recommend to the public. Scientists aren't politicians, and only politicians can green light things like emergency lava declarations or pulling the strings that allow new uses of insecticides.
ETA: stuff about oil, etc