Tips for Effective Ant Baiting

Baiting for ants has some advantages over other types of insecticides. First, baits can work when the nest cannot be found or it is inaccessible for treating with other chemicals. Second, baits pose less of a risk to children and staff by reducing the risk of possible contact with any toxic chemical. Third, baits can kill the entire colony whereas most insecticides sprayed on a surface kill only the workers that contact it. 


Remember, baits are effective only if they are eaten and not all baits are equally attractive to different ant species. Make sure the bait you use is acceptable to the ants. Place a small amount of bait where you see ants foraging and then watch their reaction for a few minutes. If the ants show no interest in the bait, try another bait until you find one that they readily feed on. Once you find a bait that is acceptable to the ants, several other factors determine its effectiveness:

• Sanitation - Baits work best when there are no other food sources available to ants. Keep areas clean so ants are not "distracted" from locating and feeding on the bait.
• Proper placement - Bait should be placed in known or suspected areas of ant activity. Be sure that bait is placed out of the reach of children and staff. Never place bait directly on countertops where food is prepared or in an area where it will get wet and/or contaminated.
• Quantity - Make sure you put out enough bait and that it remains fresh. If the ants carry away all of the bait, then they may leave the area and go elsewhere before enough bait is spread within the colony. Ant species that are capable of producing large colonies, such as the Argentine ant, will most likely require more than one application of bait.
• Durability - Baits will eventually become unacceptable if they are exposed to high temperatures, rain, and sunlight. Check baited areas for signs of ant feeding and replace baits that are no longer acceptable to the ants.
• Patience is important to successful baiting. Most ant baits are slow-acting. Explain to students and staff that they may continue to see ants for a week or more after baiting. It is important that the ants are able to return to the nest with the bait so it can be fed to other members of the colony. Ask people not to disturb or kill the ants.
• Remember, if you determine that chemical control is needed to successfully control the ants, never spray in areas baits have been applied. If the baits are contaminated, the ants will avoid the bait.

Below is an "Ant Baiting Decision Tree" developed by Jules Silverman, NCSU Charles G. Wright Professor of Structural Pest Management. You may use the Baiting Tree as a tool in determining what actions to take in order to successfully bait for ants.

Periodical Cicadas Emerging

Figure 1. Adult periodical cicada 
(Photo: David McKeithan)

We’ve had several calls lately about the emergence of periodical cicadas. These insects, which spend the first 13 or 17 years of their life underground, often emerge suddenly and in large numbers. As a matter of fact, the cicadas are emerging right now at my parents’ house in Waxhaw, NC in such large numbers that, as my mom put it, “it sounds like a UFO is hovering above our house!”

Figure 2. Newly molted periodical cicada
(Photo: David McKeithan)

Cicadas are relatively large insects with transparent wings held roof-like over the body (Fig. 1). Some species of cicadas show up every year, but the periodical cicadas show up in certain areas every 13 or 17 years. After spending all those years living in the soil, from depths of two to twenty-four inches, mature nymphs emerge from about a one-half inch diameter hole in the ground. Nymphs crawl a foot or more up tree trunks or other vertical surfaces where adults emerge leaving their nymphal skins behind. The newly emerged adult is soft and white for some time (Fig. 2) before the exoskeleton hardens and becomes darker (Fig. 3).

Figure 3. Adult periodical cicadas
(Photo: David McKeithan)

Mated females cause damage to the twigs of deciduous trees on which they lay their eggs (Fig. 4). Twigs slit by the female's ovipositor will frequently have leaves that wilt and die. This damage to the twigs may cause some of them to die, but the injury is usually inconsequential. Eggs hatch 6 to 8 weeks, at which time the young larvae burrow into the soil where they will spend the next 13 or 17 years, depending on the species.

Periodical cicada damage to twig
(Photo: Tim Tigner, VA Dept of Forestry) 

The use of insecticides in school settings for cicadas is usually not necessary or practical. The damage done to healthy trees is minimal. Trees and shrubs that are vulnerable (i.e, young or newly planted) may be covered with a covered with a mesh cloth to prevent the females from laying eggs. 

IPM Coordinator Receives Important Award

At a recent School IPM Workshop, Chris Mills, IPM Coordinator for Union County Schools, received an award from the National Steering Committee and the Southern Region School IPM workgroup for his participation in the school IPM coalition project, supported by the US EPA’s Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act grant. The award was given to Chris for all the hard work he has done to promote IPM in NC and for implementing a top-notch school IPM program in NC.

Patty Alder from NCSU presents Chris Mills his award.

Thanks Chris for all your hard work! 

School IPM Workshops Underway!

With the October 2011 deadline for implementing IPM in Schools coming up so quickly, we have been traveling across NC to offer 3-hour workshops for IPM Coordinators and maintenance personnel. The primary purpose of the workshops is to distribute IPM kits for the school systems to use to conduct their own in-house training and information sessions about school IPM for staff, teachers, parents, and other interested parties.

Each IPM kit contains:

A collection of common insect pests:

·     

·     

A CD of Powerpoint presentations and scripts for use in training and a DVD on School IPM (produced by Dr. Godfrey Nalyanya before he left NCSU):

·    

     A set of identification guides and CDs donated by Syngenta:

The topics for the workshops include instructions on how to use the training materials for promoting IPM in schools, as well as discussion of suggested protocol for bed bugs found in schools. In addition, Chris Mills, IPM Coordinator for Union County Schools, has been sharing his experiences with school IPM, from start to implementation, including problems and solutions he has encountered along the way.

Currently, we've scheduled the workshops listed below. We are working on scheduling workshops for the eastern part of NC and will let you know as soon as those are scheduled.

   

Wednesday, May 4th, 1:00pm - 4:15pm

Cumberland County Cooperative Extension

301 E Mountain Drive

Fayetteville, NC 28306

http://cumberland.ces.ncsu.edu/

Wednesday, May 11th, 1:00pm - 4:15pm

Caldwell County Cooperative Extension

120 Hospital Avenue NE, Suite 1

Lenoir, NC 28645

http://caldwell.ces.ncsu.edu/

Thursday, May 12th, 1:00pm - 4:15pm

Macon County Cooperative Extension

193 Thomas Heights Road

Franklin, NC 28734

http://macon.ces.ncsu.edu/

Please contact Patty Alder at patricia_alder@ncsu.edu if you plan on attending a workshop so that we will have enough materials to distribute. 

Clover Mites

Clover mite
(Photo: Rayanne Lehman, PA Dept. of Ag)

You may soon begin seeing tiny, bright red insects crawling around on the sunny sides of buildings, windowsills, retaining walls, etc. Most likely, the insects are clover mites. They can become a problem in early spring when they invade structures in large numbers. Clover mites are tiny (1/30-inch long), red to reddish-brown, oval-shaped mites. Clover mites, as do other arachnids, have 8 legs. They hold the front pair of legs straight out in front of the head (see photo at left). Many people actually mistake this pair of legs for antennae.

Clover mites do not bite nor do they burrow under the skin. They are strictly plant feeders. Hosts include grasses, clover, and dandelion, to name a few. Most heavy outbreaks occur in the early spring, especially around heavily fertilized lawns. In heavy infestations, the mites may invade structures and can leave a reddish-brown stain if crushed.

Placing gravel around the structure can 

help prevent clover mite invasions.   

(Photo: M. Waldvogel, NCSU)

Control. Effective control means preventing entry into buildings in the spring. Exterior cracks around doors and windows or holes in the foundation should be caulked. An 18”-24” grass and weed-free zone around the structure’s perimeter can greatly reduce the number of invading clover mites (see photo at right). Many plants are actually unattractive to clover mites, including geranium, marigold, zinnia, salvia, rose, chrysanthemum petunia, juniper, spruce, yew and barberry. Planting these non-attractive plants in the weed-free zone will help reduce the number of clover mites around the structure. You may also contact your county Cooperative Extension Center for advice on proper fertilization of lawns. For extremely heavy infestations, it may help to treat a 5-10 foot wide area of ground along the foundation, as well as an 18-24 inch wide vertical band of the foundation wall with an appropriately labeled residual liquid insecticide. Keep in mind that you will be applying a broadcast spray in this case, so you must follow proper notification procedures.

 

The application of insecticides indoor for clover mites is not warranted. There is no specific target site and excessive indoor applications are potentially harmful to children, teachers, and staff. Clover mites are not a true “emergency” and so any spraying indoors would require that you follow the 72 hour notification policy. Simply use a vacuum cleaner to collect any mites found indoors. Care should be taken not to crush the mites. The vacuum bag should be sealed in a disposable plastic bag before throwing it away. 

School IPM Workshops Scheduled!

With the October 2011 deadline for implementing IPM in Schools looming in the fall, we are offering 3-hour workshops for IPM Coordinators and maintenance personnel. We will have at least 2-CCUs of P-phase recertification credits available. The primary purpose of the workshop is to begin distributing the IPM kits for the school systems to use to conduct their own in-service training & information sessions about School IPM for staff, teachers, and parents other other interested parties.  The kits contain:

IPM Kit

- A collection of common insect pests
- A CD of Powerpoint presentations & scripts to be used for training
- A DVD on School IPM (produced by Dr. Godfrey Nalyanya before he left   NCSU)
- A set of identification guides and CDs donated by Syngenta.


The topics for the workshops will include:
- How to use the training materials for promoting IPM in your schools
- Handling bed bugs infestations
- School IPM for start to implementation - problems and solutions

Currently, we've schedule four workshops. The others will be announced when we have dates and sites.

Date: Thursday, March 10th
Time:  1:00pm - 4:15pm
Location:  Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center, Mill River, NC (near the Asheville Aiport)
Website:  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/

Date: Friday, March 11th
Time:  1:00pm - 4:15pm
Location:  Forsyth County Cooperative Extension Center, Winston-Salem, NC
Website: http://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/


Date: Monday, April 18
Time: 1:00pm - 4:15pm
Time: Pitt County Cooperative Extension 
403 Government Circle, Suite 2
Greenville, NC 27834
Date: Thursday, April 21
Time: 9:00am - 12:15pm
Location: 201 Venus Street, Monroe, NC 28112

We are planning other sessions later in the year for Wilmington, Raleigh, Fayetteville and another location to be determined in the northeast.

Please email us to let us know if you are planning to attend one of the sessions so we can have enough materials to distribute.

Patty Alder 
Training Coordinator
NCSU Department of Entomology
patricia_alder@ncsu.edu919.513.3805

Newly created resource page for teachers!

Includes IPM Activities and Resources for Teaching K-6, IPM for Teachers Curriculum, and many other great resources.


http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/teacherresources.htm