LFA - again

[Guest]

Im sure someone has, but has any one reported to this number -

http://www.reportapest.org/

[terracore]

quote:

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Originally posted by Oneself

Im sure someone has, but has any one reported to this number -

http://www.reportapest.org/

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I've never called it, but in my mind I imagine calling the number and a sultry voice in a slightly British accent says, "Thank you for calling the Hawaii pest reporting hotline...Press one for Oahu." And if you press one it goes straight to the Oahu 911 emergency dispatch SWAT team (repeat for #2 Maui, and #3 Kauai).

But if you press #4 for 'Kona' it goes to voicemail with some monotone guy saying "leave a message" but no matter what you say, you never get a call back.

If you press #5 for "East side of the Big Island and all other areas" it's a crappy, nearly too quiet to hear recording recommending that you to go to the state LFA web site or hire an exterminator, but then the person making the recording forgets to hit the "stop" button on the recorder, doesn't realize that they have a hot mic, and before it clicks off you hear them say, "like we're going to chase fire ants from THERE" <audible laughter in the background>.

Click.

[TomK]

From the OP, maud gonne

"Sorry to keep bringing this up, but they seem to be EVERYWHERE these days."

Please do not apologise for bringing this subject up again! I've learned a lot this evening reading the thread.

For the last week or so I have been bitten several times by something I could not identify. I assumed it was some flying insect but couldn't figure it out. This evening, I was out on the lanai and leaned against the rail to look at something in the yard around the corner of my house, and 30 seconds later once again I had been bitten, right where my midrift had touched the rail. An intense, very localised stinging itch. It suddenly occurred to me this wasn't a fly but something on the rail, read this thread and looked at images of little fire ants on google. Then I closely inspected the hand rail and saw 5 or 6 very small light gray slow moving ants. I can't be certain but think they are likely fire ants.

Now I suspect I know what I am fighting. Late last week I got bitten while sitting on the toilet. I will spare you the details, but you can imagine the general region of the bite. I can tell you it was not the most pleasant experience I have ever had and my eyes watered for a few minutes. Well, for a little longer than that if I am honest.

At least now I can put a bit of a plan of action into effect, and for that I am very grateful for all the information on this thread!

[Tink]

Terracore- funny, but also scarily real in the probable response! Kind of like ATT service number " internet connection problems? Visit www. ATT.com..."

Community begins with Aloha

[Obie]

I apparently have 2 kinds of ants inside my house.The ones that march in lines are small but don't have the coloring of the LFA's.
The LFA's behave differently and seem to mill around more than march.

Whenever I see the LFA's ,I sprinkle a few granules of Amdro and in a day or two they are gone.I have given up trying to control them in my yard, it would be pretty much hopeless.The best defense is long sleeve shirts and anything else you can use to cover exposed skin.I take these clothes off outside the house before going in to shower.

@ TomK

I kept getting bites on the back of my neck.I have a bad back so I often stand on my back lanai and support myself by resting my arms on the railing to stretch my back.I finally discovered that the fire ants were failing off the roof and landing on my neck.They don't bite unless they are disturbed.Somehow they would cling to my neck or back when I took my shirt off and then would bite me when I laid down in bed.
They were on the railing but they were falling from the roof.

[Spider Tim]

Hi all. My name is Ivy, I live in lower Hawaiian beaches. We used zach right before Christmas, had three months of tango sprayed in a community effort within out neighborhood and we were fire ant free for 6 months until they began recolonizing from outside of our targeted spray area.

Fire ants are easy to tell apart from the other small red ants. First of all they walk really slowly. If an ant is running (no matter how tiny or red) it is not LFA.
Also, if you tap whatever they are walking on they will freeze. All other ants run. This is because LFA have really weak grip on their feet.

LFA live anywhere and everywhere from below ground to the tops of trees. And once they go upwards if they have a viable food source they don't come back down. Which is another reason that Tango works so well. You can spray Tango, it isn't granules.

If you are using Amdro, stop. It is a poison that is infused in cornmeal that the worker ants suck out and bring back to the nest. From there it is given to the feeder ant to distribute to the rest of the colony. Problem is that by that step the poison starts to work and the feeder ant bails the nest because she is sick and so the poison never makes it to the queen. Also the worker begin to die and they bail the nest too leaving the queen to wonder what happened to her family and to go into hyperdrive and lay eggs. Which is why it seems like Amdro successfully kills the LFA but then a couple weeks layer they are back with a vengeance.

Tango on the other hand is a growth hormone regulator. It takes three to five months to eradicate an infestation because instead of killing the ants it just stops them from growing and by the time the new generation should be taking over you have colony collapse.
For us, by month 4 we had a pretty total full street success story. The ants are returning now from outside the perimeter and from a few nests that we missed but it really works.

Fire ants are capable of changing everything about our lifestyles if not contained. While I don't believe in using excess chemicals and poison, I can imagine how horrible this could get.
Because fire ants have weak feet they fly out of trees with the slightest breeze. I've been bitten in the eye. It's not pretty. Pets that are bitten in the eye develop a white cloud on their cornea that does not go away. Fire ants eat both protein and sugar so everything is on the menu.

Anyhow, that's what I know. Tango worked for us, you can call Zach, he's busy but great. Trustworthy and funny. Or you can get your own Tango. Comes in 50 dollar bottles now which is way more accessible than before at 650 dollar jugs. You can get it at pahoa feed and fertilizer. Or at crop production services in Hilo. You'll need xantham gum (island naturals sells it), peanut butter, corn oil, warm water, and a good spray bottle. You need to spray a few drops every 15 feet.

[Spider Tim]

Oops, cut off on me. To summarize, Tango is a growth hormone regulator. It works. Takes three ( to five months, if your infestation is horrendous) to reach all nests and create colony collapse. You can call Zach the fire ant guy (other posters have left his info on prior posts) or you can get it in Pahoa at the feed store or in Hilo at Crop production Services. Besides the Tango you'll need xantham gum ( island naturals), peanut butter (protein AND sugar, they can't resist it) vegetable oil, warm water, and a good spray bottle. A good strong spray bottle is key. Spray everywhere, don't forget up in trees and rock walks and in the street once a month. A dry day at dusk is best.



Get em! They don't belong here and we don't have natures checks n balances to keep em in line.