Fire Ants...Disappeared with the heat?

With the summer heat, fire ant mounds seem to disappear. Unfortunately, this really is not the case and when you add a little water (via irrigation or rainfall) mounds pop right back up. With heat and lack of water, the fire ants go hide out underground and try to get closer to the water table.

Some people may still be seeing signs of fire ants even though they are not seeing mounds. This is the case at my house. I have fire ants that are hanging out near my driveway, but I'm not seeing any mounds. So what can one do to combat fire ants when temperatures are soaring?

If you go with a bait, then you want to treat in the evening when the dew has burned off the grass and it's cooler so the fire ants should be out foraging. Remember to use fresh bait and to always read and follow label instructions. You can use the bait as a broadcast over the whole yard or you can treat individual mounds (if you're seeing fire ants but no mounds like I am, then treat the whole yard). Most baits are broadcast with a hand held spreader, but some use a drop spreader; check the label for proper application equipment.

If you are seeing mounds, then you can choose to go with an individual mound treatment. If you want to use bait, sprinkle the bait around the outside of the mound, not on top of it. Fire ants do not forage for food on top of the mound, so if you apply the bait there, then you probably won't get too much control. There are numerous other products in a variety of formulations for treating individual fire ant mounds. Choose one that you feel comfortable utilizing and follow the label instructions. Make sure that you water in a product if the label instructs you to do so. Many times people do not achieve the control they want because they forgot to water in the product.

Travis County Extension Office Temporarily Closed

On Tuesday of last week- June 29, 2010- the Travis County Extension office was damaged and flooded when a part of the roof collapsed during heavy rains. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but the office was flooded. Because of the damage, the office is closed until further notice.

People are working to get systems back into place for phone calls, emails and other sources of communication. Until then, please try to be patient. If you have a pressing bug question that needs to be answered you can leave a comment on this blog or you can contact a Texas AgriLife Extension Office in a different county.

If you are a Travis County Master Gardener and need more information on how the office closure affects you or for more information, please check the Central Texas Horticulture blog; Daphne was way better at explaining things more in depth.

Are you seeing holes in your lawn?

I've been getting calls about small holes in people's lawns that are surrounded by the piled up dirt from the hole. These holes are most likely caused by cicada killers, a type of solitary wasp.

Cicada killers are large wasps reaching a length of about 1.5 inches. The wasps have a reddish-brown head and thorax and a black and yellow marked abdomen. The wings are brownish.

Since the wasps are so large, people are often worried about their sting. Females are capable of stinging, males are not. Males are territorial and will often fly near humans walking through an area; this could be to intimidate you and have you get out of their territory or it could be that they need to check if you are a female cicada killer ready to mate. Either way, if you keep to your business they will keep to theirs. Females, while capable of stinging, are not aggressive.

Females dig burrows in the ground where they take cicadas that they paralyze with their sting. The cicadas are placed into chambers off of the main burrow and then an egg is laid in the chamber. When the egg hatches, the larvae consumes the cicada(s) provided for them.

Control really isn't necessary for these wasps.