Question
Pecan Tree Trunk
The trunk of an old large pecan tree is infested with fire ants. How do I get rid of the ants without killing the tree? The tree produced an abundance of pecans in 2003, but now does not produce many and those are dried up and black.
AnswerApply ant bait aroudn the tree.
Baits take advantage of the foraging habits of the fire ants and are not to be confused with granular forms of insecticides. Baiting works in a very similar fashion. The bait is carried by workers back to the colony and fed to other ants, including the queen. It works much slower than granular insecticides. Baits work differently, too, in that they do not use insecticides to poison the colony, but work slowly by affecting the queen抯 reproductive ability. The colony will still have workers running around, but no new ants will be born to replenish the population. Eventually the colony dies off, as the ants die from natural causes or from their own short life span.
You should also avoid disturbing mounds when broadcasting. This will cause the foragers to flee back to the mound to protect the queen, and they will usually move the colony rather than carry the food back to the nest.
Some common bait products are: Extinguish Professional Fire Ant Bait; GardenTech Over 'n Out! Fire Ant Killer Mound Treatment; Amdro Ant Block Home Perimeter Ant Bait; Green Light Fire Ant Control with Conserve; Ferti-Lome Come and Get It; Amdro Fire Ant Bait or Amdro Pro; Extinguish Plus Fire Ant Bait; and Spectracide Fire Ant Killer Plus Preventer Bait Once & Done.
Bait treatments are an excellent way to treat entire communities. Baiting can be much more cost effective than other methods, can lower the frequency of applications, and is less toxic to the environment.
