Katrina May Allow New Orleans To Eradicate Fire Ants - ENN

Well, it sure isn't much of a silver lining, but I guess it's something . . .

NEW ORLEANS — Entomologists believe that Hurricane Katrina provided them with a golden opportunity to knock out, or at least squash, the fire ant population in this city. Flood waters rid many neighborhoods of the stinging ants and on Thursday crews began spreading deadly bait in parks and along levees to kill the ant colonies and nests that did survive.

The citywide eradication plan, backed by large donations of bait by pesticide companies, also seeks to engage neighborhood groups and homeowners in the fight. "Ants are the No. 1 pest right now -- nationwide," said Claudia Riegel, an entomologist with the Mosquito and Termite Control Board, the agency that fights the swarms of bugs that find balmy New Orleans a perfect breeding ground.

In the coming weeks, workers will scatter granular bait over about 2,500 acres of parks, levees and other public green spaces in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, a neighboring parish hit hard by Katrina. Ants forage when temperatures get hotter, and officials expect them to pick up the bait and take it back to their colonies.

The ants are mainly a nuisance because they can deliver a powerful stinging jolt -- about 1 percent of people are highly allergic to the venom -- but they can also cause other damage. For instance, they can short-circuit electrical systems. "They're bad at airports with the runway lights, and with traffic lights, air conditioning," said Dale Pollet, a Louisiana State University AgCenter entomologist. The fight is targeting nonnative species of fire ants, which have taken over large sections of the city, and the nation. Entomologists are upbeat about the possibility of taking a big bite out of the red ant population in the region for at least the next six months, and longer if neighborhoods and homeowners participate in great numbers. In about six weeks, homeowners will be able to get the bait for free.

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http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10441

Those biting little fuckers re-colonize like crazy.

At what point during the extermination process would they qualify to become an endangered species?

I those are the meek being talked about

They're invasive, dangerous, and destructive.

Somebody has to make and ship that stuff so it ain't free. Somebody is getting a shit load of funding for this effort and if you follow the money......

moment they're wending their way towards New Orleans.

was attacked by a bunch standing on an old friend's driveway in New Orleans a few years back. If people can get rid of them, it would be one bright spot in their lives.

we had a line of rabbit huts attacked by them. The ants killed and ate about 20 rabbits in about 8 hours. To the bone. Imagine being a 10 year old kid and walking in on that... still freaks me out. I hate the fsckers, and they have followed me to Florida it seems.

They'll be baaaacckk!

One of the things that ants prey on is roaches and their eggs. With the ants gone the roaches are going to have a great time of it.

Good luck folks.