GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Imported red fire ants have plagued farmers, ranchers and others for decades. Now the reviled pests are facing a bug of their own.
Researchers have pinpointed a naturally occurring virus that kills the ants, which arrived in the U.S. in the 1930s and now cause $6 billion in damage annually nationwide, including about $1.2 billion in Texas.
The virus caught the attention of U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers in Florida in 2002. The agency is now seeking commercial partners to develop the virus into a pesticide to control fire ants.
The virus was found in about 20 percent of fire ant fields, where it appears to cause the slow death of infected colonies.
Click here to read the entire article.
Source: Houston Chronicle
Latest from Pest Control Technology
- Earn CEUs from Your State at Next Week’s Mosquito Control Virtual Conference
- Preserving Culture, Providing Opportunities Key in Hoffman’s Decision
- Winter Weather Could Decide How Bad Mosquito Season Gets
- Trent Frazer Discusses How Mosquitoes Survive Winter
- Barnes Exterminating Acquires Tennessee Pest Solutions
- Pest Index Up 9% YOY in January
- Arrow Exterminators Acquires Hoffman's Exterminating
- PMPs Plan Mera Peak Summit for Parkinson's
