Greenhouse

The Fire Ants Behind Nursery Quarantines

Imported fire ants pose a threat to people, plants, animals and equipment. On the property, they can short-circuit electrical equipment and damage machinery with large mounds. When it comes to commercial nurseries, fire ants are a particular threat to young plants. They get into the plants and impede growth. They also migrate easily, spreading via the transport of infested goods such as pots, soil and sod.

How Quarantines Impact Nurseries

To hinder the spread of fire ants, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) enacted a quarantine over areas with large populations of fire ants. Regulated items cannot be moved from quarantined areas to non-quarantined areas unless traveling with inspections or certifications that confirm they are free of fire ants. Items can be treated for fire ants with USDA/APHIS approved fire ant control products, such as Extinguish® Plus from Central Life Sciences.

Nurseries dealing with regulated materials may be affected by the cost of shipping or receiving infested plant-materials or soil. Restricting the spread of these harmful pests to uninfested areas is critical to stopping the growth of their populations, and using an effective, USDA-approved control solution is half the battle.

Implementing a Treatment Solution

Treating for fire ants is far and away the best option for commercial nurseries to curb infestations. Central Life Sciences has a solution to help protect nurseries from fire ants, delivering an effective and economical solution to the problems fire ants pose:

  • Extinguish® Plus is USDA-approved and effective against imported and native fire ant and other ants and is approved for indoor and outdoor use.
  • It contains both an insect growth regulator (IGR), (S)-methoprene, and an adulticide Hydramethylnon,
  • The IGR prevents rebound of the colony and the adulticide ensures rapid demise of the colony.

Extinguish Plus can be used as a broadcast application or used to treat individual mounds.

With the help of this product, you can protect your nursery and stop fire ants in their tracks. To learn more, visit the Extinguish® Plus Product Page at centralantcontrol.com.