09-18-2007, 06:33 AM
Slightly off topic, but here in HPP we have the fire ants AND those nasty stinging caterpillars. Sometimes I feel like I need to put on a hazmat suit to do my gardening, which is my main activity.
Also, and more on topic, I think there must be more than one type of fire ant in Puna. The ones we have had in the past have been larger than the ones described in the HTH article, and they have nested in the ground. We don't seem to have the tiny ones so far. I have been able to control the ground nesting ones with a Malathion drench around the nest sites. (You don't know how annoyed I had to be to use that nasty stuff.) We don't have any fire ants right now, but the caterpillars remain a problem despite the use of a bug zapper to kill the moths that produce the caterpillars.
Not so cheerful on this topic,
Jerry
Also, and more on topic, I think there must be more than one type of fire ant in Puna. The ones we have had in the past have been larger than the ones described in the HTH article, and they have nested in the ground. We don't seem to have the tiny ones so far. I have been able to control the ground nesting ones with a Malathion drench around the nest sites. (You don't know how annoyed I had to be to use that nasty stuff.) We don't have any fire ants right now, but the caterpillars remain a problem despite the use of a bug zapper to kill the moths that produce the caterpillars.
Not so cheerful on this topic,
Jerry