Imported fire ants have a combined impact/cost of over $6B annually including loss of human life. Of that, approximately $1B is agricultural damage to crops, livestock and other domesticated animals. The purpose is to improve/reformulate then laboratory/field-test the efficacy of a series of "very successful" Phase I SBIR sustained-release prototypes for deliverying volatile chemicals used to attract, repel or kill the imported fire ant for periods of several months or more. OBJECTIVES: Objectives are to improve/reformulate then laboratory/field-test the efficacy of a series of "very successful" Phase I SBIR sustained-release prototypes for volatile chemicals used to attract, repel and/or kill the imported fire ant for several periods of several months or more. In conjunction with USDA/ARS in Gainesville, BioGuard will reformulate and produce sufficient quantities of the "best" of the third series of prototypes to release a series of semiochemicals and pesticides over extended periods of time to improve control/monitoring of fire ants. BioGuard has enlisted a chemical/pesticide supplier (FMC), polymer manufacturers (PGI), and distributors (SCJ and UIVAR) for commercializing this technology for protecting lawns and agricultural pastures and electrical systems, and for quarantine applications with containerized nursery stock, and beehives. We will improve existing baits by addition of sustained release systems for attractants and fire ant insecticides. Our focus is on improving Integrated Pest Management Strategies with products for controlling chemical release from the polymer to air and/or soil for fire ant control and monitoring. Products to be developed will be based on polymeric sustained-releasing systems BioGuard has commercialized over the last decade and/or been improving while working with USDA/ARS under a CRADA/SBIR on attractants for cockroaches. APPROACH: The approach will be to further develop, conduct additional laboratory and field testing, perform economic/market/cost analysis as well as production engineering scale-up for preliminary commercialization of several products to control the imported fire ant. These will employ polymeric sustained-release delivery systems with repellents, an attractant, and the RIFA registered insecticides. The following product areas are used to delineate and target performance guidelines. 1) Broad area protection - open areas for "terrain denial or exclusion". a) Control for 5-7 days for public events, and weeks/months or up to a year(s) for public areas such as parks or playgrounds using repellents - either surface or subsurface applications using non-degradable or a degradable polymeric matrix. b) Control for 4-8 weeks for special high risk agricultural areas (breeding areas/structures) using repellents. c) Control for general agricultural areas, golf courses or other large open areas for periods of 12-36 months, using insecticides and/or repellents that are either surface applies or subsurface injected using degradable polymeric matrices. 2) Point protection - enclosures around electric systems or containerized nursery stock. Years of control using chemical insecticides, months/years with repellents 3) Bait improvement - point control augmentation. Control efficacy for weeks or months using attractant within bait systems 4) Point protection - open area. Control of IFA for quarantined items in nursery stock and in growing areas as well as control of hitchhiking in domestic bee hives, and control around locations of endangered species, control for weeks/months using RIFA specific repellents that could take the form of a landscape fabric containing the bioactive
