We need to work together to eradicate little fire ants

QUESTION 1: I live in Keeau and was going to help chop down an invasive albizia tree for my elderly neighbor. Then we noticed it was infested with little fire ants, and we bailed on that. It seems the pesky alien albizia trees are like an overhead freeway for this vicious pest to travel and spread.

QUESTION 2: I was picking up lilikoi in my own yard, and the tiny ants rained down from my trees and signaled an attack. A whole bunch of them bit me one time, on my neck, inside my bra. I had to go in the house and shower off. A month later the bites still itch, burn and fester. What can we do?

QUESTION 3: We live in Keeau and recently got invaded by the new little fire ants. My wife drinks two beers a day and loves peanut butter. She got bitten the worst and had to go hospital. Are they attracted to beer and peanut butter? My son found one of their ground nests, and we treated it but have to do that every month. What is the best bait and control?

ANSWER: As we professional landscapers say: Nuke ’em! Hit them with every legal and safe chemical pesticide or other treatment. Usually I like to avoid chemical pesticides, but we need to control these insects right away.

And as we’ve pleaded to Gov. Neil Abercrombie and government agencies before, please restore and enhance the role of agricultural inspectors. Increase inspections, set up interisland quarantine areas and also send experts into the field to help us eliminate this serious alien invader.

We all need to work together to control and eliminate the new pest invasions and prevent them from getting to other islands. In particular, we need to kill off invasions of little fire ants while we have a fighting chance.

Here are some tips for keeping your garden safe and what to do if you suspect you’ve already been infested.

» Quarantine: Don’t bring any new plants home, especially from Hawaii island. Be careful even if you live on the island. Don’t get mulch or tree chips from unclean areas; this spreads the ants, as well as coqui frogs.

» Get help: Hire a commercial pesticide applicator to treat your yard — it is worth it to keep the fire ants out of your gardens and home. Be aware that the insects don’t just infest trees and plants; they also can attack pets and blind them with their bites as they seek out the moisture in their eyes.

» Be vigilant: These ants can make an entire nest in a macadamia nut shell with a puka. The queens migrate easily and make new nests. Not only are they in the ground, but they also like to live in trees. This is one of the worst possible pests, and we need to hit back at it hard — NOW.

» Identify the problem: To make a positive ID, smear a chopstick with peanut butter and put it near a plant or area you suspect has been infested. If the ants are present they will swarm onto the peanut butter. Capture them (carefully) in a Ziploc bag, seal and freeze to kill them. Then contact the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at 956-6742 or the state Department of Agriculture at 643-PEST (7378) to confirm you are dealing with little fire ants.

» Treatment options: One recommendation is to use an insecticide such as Amdro or Talstar. Make a ring of it around areas you don’t want them to get into, like your house or favorite tree. Ask at your garden shop or get advice from your local UH extension agent.

Follow the pesticide label and repeat as often as is legal. We need to work as a community to fend off these pesky ants.

» More tips: Arborist Mike Krauss says to treat areas where your pets live, like doghouses or chicken coops, with food-grade diatomaceous earth — it is abrasive on the bodies of the pests, and they die when they cross it. He is careful about transporting anything from infested areas, especially tree chips and mulch. When he picks fruit like oranges or bananas where they could be hiding, he puts the freshly picked fruit into a 5-gallon bucket and puts in a capful of laundry detergent, fills the bucket with water and agitates the fruit inside for a few minutes. Not only is the fruit clean, but the laundry soap also kills insect pests like little fire ants.

We all really need to work together to stop this serious pest. If we don’t control it now, life in Hawaii gardens will never be the same.

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Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant specializing in native, xeric and edible gardens. Reach her at heidibornhorst@gmail.com.