Travel Forum / Travel Types / RV Travel / July 2008

Funny that this would come up now.  I've been doing a long term research
project up here in Green Cove based on a research paper I found last spring
that dealt with controlling German yellow jackets.  The area has been invaded
with German yellow jackets (nests above ground and are meat eaters instead of
sweets).  What the locals call "piss ants" (tiny red stinging ants) have also
become a serious problem.

The research paper addressed the use of Fipronil, a very long delayed acting
poison, to control yellow jackets.  The procedure was to have a group of grad
students walk shoulder to shoulder across a large, multi-acre mixed field and
wooded area, finding and counting yellow jacket nests (such is the life of a
grad student :-)

Next bait stations were prepared and set out at intervals around the area.  In
a month, the walk was repeated.  All nests within about a 500 yard radius of
each station were wiped out.  In fact, the entire survey area was almost clear
of nests.

Based on that and based on the degree of infestation here (every other deck
seemed to have a nest under it), I decided to set up my experiment.  Most
everyone is familiar with Fipronil but don't know it.  It's the active
ingredient in FrontLine flea control product.  Grossly over-priced, of course.

I didn't know whether all the yellow jackets were American or German so for
each bait station I set up two baits, one was cherry preserves and the other
canned cat food.  To about 100 grams of each I added the amount of FrontLine
that would cling to the tip of a toothpick. (sorry, no micropippets available)
I added a touch of water and made a thick slurry.

In one location I set up a camera and time lapse timer and photographed the
bait every 5 minutes over a 2 day period.  I never saw more than 2 yellow
jackets on the cat food and none on the preserves.  That was enough.

Bottom line - the Green Cove area is now almost completely yellow jacket-free.
The other residents think that I did some sort of FM :-)

Back to ants.  There has been a piss ant colony under the general store for
years.  They emerge from one crack or the other every so often and raid the
garbage or the sweets aisle.  Royal PITA.  Based on the yellow jacket success,
I set up another experiment.  This time I used honey diluted with water so as
not to be so sticky as to trap the ants.  I dipped just a little more than the
tip of a round toothpick in FrontLine and mixed it in the honey-water and put
the mixture on a shallow foam saucer that had the rim cut down so that the
edge almost touched the floor.

Within a day the ant were on that bait like stink on ... Well, you know :-)

It's been about 2 weeks and all evidence is that the colony is gone.  I've set
up more honey bait stations outside where ants have been seen in the past and
they've been ignored.  No ants visible. I'm ready to declare success.

What is unique about Fipronil is that it has no odor or taste in the
concentration used.  According to the research paper, yellow jackets are very
particular and are repelled my most other insecticides.

FrontLine is obscenely expensive but Fipronil is available in large quantities
for much more reasonable prices.  I have some of this currently on order:

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termidor-sc-p-184.html?gclid=CLWtj87hn5QCFQlqs
goddFN7tQ

I'll be testing it to make sure none of the inert ingredients repel yellow
jackets.

Fipronil is available in higher concentrations as a planting-time worm control
insecticide used with corn.  Nominally, a pesticide license is required to buy
it, though I've found out that this is only a small obstacle.

This chemical highlights EPAs irrational pesticide rules.  In the form of
FrontLine, the stuff is put ON your pet INSIDE your house.  In the form of
Termidor (about the same concentration) the labeling SCREAMS not to use it
indoors.

I have a feeling that this might just be one of the best long persistence
roach killers around.  I'm going to find out.  One of the roach gels has
Fipronil in it (Combat, I think but can't recall) but I'm looking at something
that I can spray the baseboards with.  The roach gel dries out within a month
and becomes useless.

When the Termidor arrives, I'm going to be testing it with a yellow jacket
attractant, the little capsules that come with those yellow yellow jacket
traps.  That should draw them in from much farther away than mere cat food.

Before I forget, many thanks to my friend Bruce Bowen who turned me on to the
paper.

More info on german vs American yellow jackets.

http://www.cisr.ucr.edu/german_yellowjacket.html

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
It isn't Global Warming.... It's Jerry Falwell arriving in hell.

Only 2.8 Mill???  Hell...  you didn't have a ant problem..  now..  if
they were killer bees and honey...  mebbee...  :)

Bought a package of Terro a couple of months ago after I saw small ants
in the bathroom.  Put box on kitchen counter.  Ants have disappeared.
NEVER opened the package!

Lou