Tests aim to extinguish the spread of fire ants

Last July, Peter Parker began noticing some mounds shaping up around his 150-acre farm.

He disturbed one and an angry swarm of tiny, red ants emerged.

"I came in the house and said, 'I think we've got fire ants,' " the 73-year-old farmer said. "Those things are mean."

So he reported his findings to the state, and someone came out to treat the roughly 40 mounds.

But this year, the bugs are back. Only this time, state officials have said Virginia will no longer pay to control the colonies. There are just too many.

Parker isn't alone in battling the pests, which deliver a painful sting and can damage crops.

Hamilton Allen is here to help.

Allen, a 25-year-old entomology graduate student at Virginia Tech, is researching the state's fire ant problem for his master's thesis. Parker's Produce farm is one of his test sites.

Saturday afternoon, Allen and another researcher walked the farm looking for fire ant mounds. They counted about 10 spotting the perimeter of the field behind Parker's Desert Road home.

They planned to bait the bugs with hot dogs, one of their favorite foods, to identify infested spots, Allen said. Then they'll test three pesticides to see which works best, he said.

The ultimate goal is to convince the pesticide companies to register their fire ant products in Virginia, so people like Parker can use them, Allen said.

"Virginia has become a fire ant market, and we need products out here," he said. "Hopefully... we can get some of those products registered for use in the state."

Allen plans to map how fire ants have spread since first entering Virginia in 1989. He said he hopes to predict where they'll go next and help stop them from spreading.

Parker has lived on the farm his whole life and never saw a fire ant among the rows of butter beans, corn and other produce until last year, he said. They haven't posed a danger to his crops, but he doesn't want them spreading.

The state placed a temporary quarantine on 11 localities, including Suffolk and other Hampton Roads cities, on Wednesday. It restricts movement of articles that can transport fire ants, such as plants and farm equipment, until they're inspected.

The Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services is expected to make the quarantine permanent later this summer.

It hasn't hurt Parker's business because he only sells locally, he said.

The biggest concern is the public health risk, Allen said. Fire ant bites sometimes cause severe allergic reactions. In 2006, a man died in Virginia Beach after being bitten.

"They can be dangerous," Allen said, "really, really dangerous."

Anyone who spots a fire ant mound on his or her property, Allen said, should call the Department of Agriculture or Virginia Tech's Dodson Urban Pest Management Laboratory at (540)-231-4045.

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com