Insect Management
Red Imported Fire Ants
Community Abatement - Grant County
Concentrated Community Education Effort
Kevin D. Jones, County Extension Agent - Agriculture
Grant County Arkansas
Grant County, located in South Central Arkansas, has been impacted by
fire ants for 5 - 10 years. In 1998, the Grant County Cooperative
Extension Service (CES) has made a concentrated effort to educate its
residents about fire ants. Beginning in early Spring presentations
have been made at local schools and local venues such as Wal-Mart that
have really impacted the county. People in Grant County are now
aware that the Cooperative Extension Service has information about fire
ants. The phone rings quite often with fire ant questions --
especially about developing community abatement programs -- something we
have tried to emphasize in our programs.
The Gray Oaks subdivision, the Sheridan Community Center, and the
Hillcrest Inn are just three of the groups impacted by the education
effort. Gray Oaks signed on to treat their neighborhood for fire
ants after attending an informational meeting in April. The
Sheridan Community Center noted a decrease in fire ant complaints by
people playing baseball and softball in the sports complex after
treating their complex with CES recommended products. The
Hillcrest Inn was happy to see the fire ant mounds disappear in their
manicured lawn after being treated.
All of the groups have been educated such that they know there is no
'one time - one shot' solution to the fire ant problem, but they have
learned that by working together they can minimize the fire ants' impact
on their lives. Recently, a lawn-tractor was donated to our office for
use in continued development of fire ant abatement programs in the
county.
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