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Interesting article. My daughter, who lives on Maui, brought it to my attention. Could this mean there's reason to think the Big Island could still turn these menacing critters away? Or are we destined to be the land of lost causes forever? I hate these frickin' ants! More and more so every time I am bitten by the buggahs..
From..
https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/the-co...-east-maui
It’s been several years since the Maui Invasive Species Committee took a big leap in the battle against the little fire ant — and so far, so good. A pilot project is showing signs of success in Nāhiku on Maui.
Named for their painful sting that can blind animals, the tiny ants nest on the ground and up in trees, threatening Hawaiʻi's economy and environment.
The
MISC and the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab devised a strategy to spread what they think is a recipe for success in the seemingly impossible mission to beat back the little fire ant.
In 2019, the MISC started using helicopters to spray bait aimed at sterilizing ant queens and curbing the stinging pests. They hoped the pancake batter-like substance would drip down from the trees to the ground.
"It appears that the little fire ants have been wiped out, and we have ceased our aerial operation. Our last treatment was back in February of this year," said Brooke Mahnken, the invasive ant supervisor for the MISC...
More at the link above..
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The treated area in Nāhiku is about 175 acres and ranges from sea level to over 1,000 feet in elevation.
The size of the area may have factored into the project’s success. It’s a good test, and apparently worked, so let’s hope The County of Hawaii follows The County of Maui and provides funds for the helicopter and bait. Not just county ant collectors and counters to determine the size of the infestation, surveyors to measure the total area that requires treatment, and whatever other jobs can be performed by cousins and unkos of the appropriations committee.
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iʻm assuming that this is the Tango recipe, which Iʻve used for several years on our property. The problem weʻve had is that we have jungle on two sides of us and the ants keep marching in. The best we can do is hold them off for a little while. Using the helicopters to spray the bait seems like the only effective solution to really get rid of the little buggahs.
Certainty will be the death of us.
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"Could this mean there's reason to think the Big Island could still turn these menacing critters away?" - MyManao
Not on your life. The Maui eradication sounds like it was a single property in a remote area. Can you imagine trying to do aerial spraying over the Puna subdivisions? At the first mention of such, a contingent (some of them in tin foil hats) will turn up a the planning meeting wringing their hands and wailing loudly about being poisoned. Dream on.
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wringing their hands and wailing loudly about being poisoned
Chunkster wins one space Bingo today.
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provides funds for the helicopter and bait
hahaha "provides funds" good one
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(12-11-2023, 11:49 PM)kalakoa Wrote: provides funds for the helicopter and bait
hahaha "provides funds" good one
We could do a pancake breakfast to get the cash...
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...and think of all the fire ant mitigation companies that would go out of business! Fire ants are GOOD for the economy!
:::more hand wringing:::
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The largest aerial spraying campaign I'm aware of in this country is when California sprayed between 160,000 - 500,000 acres with Malathion to beat back the Med fly in 1989-1990. A feat that could probably never happen in today's environmentally paranoid population. In contrast, the BI is 2 million acres larger than the largest estimate of what was sprayed in CA. Even if they were only spraying a third of it, it's too large a project for this state to successfully undertake.
The good news is that there is a proven option to create pockets of temporary LFA-free zones.
I briefly looked into what it would cost to buy a drone capable of spreading something over AG land to knock the LFA back. When I found out they start at $30k my looking became even more brief.
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12-12-2023, 12:45 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-12-2023, 12:46 AM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
California sprayed between 160,000 - 500,000 acres with Malathion to beat back the Med fly in 1989-1990
Here’s a brief video recreation in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts. (In the first 10 seconds or so). The choppers flew at night. They told people to cover their cars. Now, imagine the first night that scene played out over Puna, even if the spray was relatively nontoxic. I imagine it would also be the last night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eAmQOJwdb4
