Red fire ant, originally from South America, is listed as an invasive organism in China. It is one of the most destructive invasive organisms in the world and is widely distributed. From 2004, when it was first discovered in Wuchuan, Guangdong Province, to August 2024, it has spread to 673 counties and urban areas in 13 provinces across the country, and its geographical scope has gradually spread from south to north. Because of its extremely strong destructive power, aggression and reproduction, it has caused serious harm to our country's agricultural planting, ecological environment and life safety.

 

The prevention and control of red fire ants is an urgent task to alleviate the agricultural and forestry ecology of red fire ants and human safety. On the basis of finding out the distribution of the epidemic, all localities should seize the favorable opportunity of the current epidemic prevention and control, strengthen the blockade of the major plant epidemic areas, and strictly quarantine and transport quarantine. At the same time, all localities should organize special spring control actions for major epidemics such as the red fire ant eradication campaign in spring, formulate action plans, and achieve unified prevention and control strategies, unified prevention and control periods, unified prevention and control measures, unified prevention and control indicators, and unified publicity. The 14 leading units of the major epidemic prevention and control cooperation group also need to organize the members of the cooperation group to carry out technical exchanges and training, joint supervision and control and governance, and build a good prevention and control demonstration site and demonstration zone to effectively control the spread and spread of the epidemic.

1. Strategies and objectives of red fire ant prevention and control

To prevent the spread and introduction of the epidemic by holding technical training courses, taking effective quarantine measures and a series of scientific and reasonable technical measures for investigation and monitoring; The prevention and control strategy of red fire ant epidemic prevention and control shall be implemented in phases, and red fire ant epidemic prevention and control shall be carried out in an all-round way to significantly reduce the occurrence and harm of red fire ant in the prevention and control area, curb the spread and spread of red fire ant epidemic, continuously control the population density of red fire ant in the occurrence area, and effectively curb its spread and spread. Avoid social panic and large areas of abandoned farmland caused by the ant injury.

Spring prevention and control should be carried out twice a year according to local climatic conditions, and the first prevention and control should be carried out before or at the peak of the wedding flight of red fire ants in spring. The second prevention and control should be carried out when the climatic conditions are suitable in summer and autumn.

According to the requirements of prevention and control objectives and the characteristics of geographical environment, the occurrence of red fire ants should be monitored scientifically and comprehensively, and the prevention and control priorities and specific methods should be determined. Select the use of safe, low-toxicity, low-residue agents, mainly use the technology of point combination, trapping and killing to carry out the prevention and control work, and carry out quarantine treatment of high-risk transferred goods in the occurrence area; Scientific evaluation of prevention and control effects, to guide the next step of prevention and control work.

2. Monitoring and investigation of red fire ant

The active period of red fire ant is from March to November in South China and from April to October in central, East and Southwest China. Through inquiry investigation, field investigation, induction investigation, post-control inspection and other means to focus on monitoring the representative areas of the epidemic and the marginal areas of the epidemic area, to grasp the invasion and spread of red fire ants. Focus on monitoring high-risk areas, such as along roads, high-risk items (grass and grass turf, cultivation media, waste materials, etc.) gathering areas, to determine whether red fire ants are introduced.

3. Field investigation

In areas where red fire ant nests are visible,The red fire ant cloud collection APP was used to accurately locate the ant nests in the occurrence area, and the ant nests were marked with obvious signs.Conduct a comprehensive survey of key monitoring areas. Walk to check for suspicious anthills or worker activity. If there is an anthill, disturb and destroy the anthill, and observe whether there is a phenomenon that the ant colony quickly emerges from the nest and shows aggressive behavior. In the location of suspected red fire ant mounds or worker ant activities, ant specimens should be collected for on-site identification or sent to the relevant departments and experts for identification. After identification and confirmation of red fire ants in the area, comprehensive monitoring should be carried out to determine the specific range of red fire ants occurrence and distribution, ant nest density, worker ant density, harm degree, etc. Red fire ant cloud collection APP was used to accurately locate the occurrence area and ant nests, and Mingzhi was used to mark ant nests. The GPS location of Ant Nests was used to map the epidemic distribution trend. Summarize the epidemic situation in a timely manner and report it to relevant local departments.

In the areas where no obvious red fire ant nests were found, a red fire ant collector combined with bait was used to carry out the bait monitoring, and the bait placement should cover all villages or communities in the high-risk areas where red fire ants were introduced. Each village or community set up more than 3 bait points of each type of place, put the bait on the ground for 30 minutes, collect ants, on-site identification or send to the relevant departments and experts for identification.

4. Dig nests after prevention and control

In order to determine the number of red fire ant colonies, the change of structure, and the killing effect of control measures, it is necessary to dig the whole ant nest, check and record the number of each grade and the development of young ants. When digging the nest, dig to the bottom of the nest.

5. effective methods for the prevention and control of red fire ants

1. Quarantine interception

Quarantine of goods from red fire ant occurrence countries and regions, focusing on waste (machinery), logs, wood packaging, containers, etc. Once the ant is found, quarantine should be strictly carried out.

2. Emergency services

Set up a hotline, receive the red fire ant epidemic consultation phone, promptly solve the doubts, if the need for on-site culling treatment, according to the agreed time to arrive at the scene investigation and emergency treatment. After receiving the report of the new red fire ant epidemic, emergency epidemic investigation, red fire ant prevention and control training were quickly carried out, and emergency prevention and control were carried out to control the spread of red fire ants in a timely manner.

3. the use of appropriate, high quality ants killing bait

In sunny or cloudy day and night, the temperature is 21-34°C or the surface temperature is 22-38°C, can be used when the ground is dry; Do not release when the ground is wet or rain is forecast within 6-12 hours.   

                                        

(1) Destroy a single ant nest or a single site of red fire ants

(2) When killing red fire ants with larger nest density

★ When the density of ant nests is large, apply + Broadcast:

★ Suitable for large ant nest density.

★ When spreading poison bait, cover all points in the area where it occurs.

★ In the appropriate area, manpower can be properly organized, and a variety of sprayers can be used to spread poison bait in a wide range, and the work efficiency can reach 200-300 mu/person/day, or even higher.

★ The use of drones to spread poison bait is more efficient, and can reach areas inaccessible to personnel or more complex environments, leaving no dead corners, and the prevention and control effect is more thorough.

★ When the density of ant nests is high and the distribution is widespread, the combination of controlling individual nests and spreading the poison bait can be used in the severe occurrence area, and the amount of poison bait can be appropriately increased.

4. the application of special, quick effect of fire shu pure contact powder prevention

Treatment of a single ant nest, killing the queen, can quickly carry out control treatment, and then kill the ant colony. Usage: Destroy the ant nest, immediately sprinkle the powder evenly on the worker ants after a large number of workers gush out, and deliver the drug through the contact between the worker ants and other ants, and then poison the whole nest, generally 5-10天起效。

Combination of bait and powder: According to the occurrence of the epidemic situation, such as independent ant nests and loose ants, the combination of bait and powder is generally used to kill independent ant nests with powder first, and then the entire area is sown with bait and powder for carpet control.

5. Red fire ant prevention and control training  

By holding technical training courses, adopting a series of scientific and reasonable investigation and monitoring technical measures, and implementing comprehensive pesticide culling and control measures, the comprehensive prevention and control work of red fire ant epidemic has been completed, significantly reducing the occurrence and harm of red fire ant in the prevention and control area, and curbing the spread and spread of red fire ant epidemic. Prevention and control services have been completed in hundreds of cities and counties across the country, with a cumulative prevention and control area of more than 5 million mu.

6. Release publicity books on red fire ant prevention and control

Publicity materials such as brochures on the prevention and control of red fire ants have been distributed to promote extensive publicity and increase the participation of the general public.

7.Red fire ant eradication measures

 Effective quarantine measures should be taken to prevent the spread and introduction of the epidemic; Large-scale scientific monitoring, accurately grasp the specific distribution range and occurrence degree of red fire ants; The main prevention and control measures such as poison bait and powder nest killing are implemented in stages, and the prevention and control strategy of gradually eliminating red fire ants is carried out in an all-round way.