May Newsletter
Friday, May 11th, 2018
Fire Ants
This photo was taken at one of our potential research sites. Every orange flag marks a fire ant mound location.
April showers bring May flowers, and fluffy fire ant mounds. Knoxville, Tennessee is located in northern range of the red imported fire ant. Despite the wide temperature fluctuations in Knoxville, highs this month ranged from 40s to 80s, fire ants are popping up everywhere now. Kristen has traded her search image for rotten logs containing termites to piles of dirt containing fire ants and has seen an increase in fire activity in the upstate South Carolina. Population densities can vary greatly, from acres that are fire ant free, to finding another mound every two to three steps taken. The reasons for this are somewhat complicated and sometimes baffling. They prefer lawns/fields with southern exposures, heat sinks (concrete, buildings) and lots of sunlight. We have located enough fire ant mounds in TN and SC to conduct one or two pesticide registration efficacy studies and continue to look for additional fire ant infested sites. Kristen and I are also gearing up to conduct some bed bug and cockroach studies. Therefore, Kristen, our chemistry intern Efren and I have been busy bees, cutting up 4×4 inch square pieces of wood, cardboard, fabric and linoleum. These various substrates are required to show pesticides can work on a variety of porous and non-porous surfaces.
Our intern Efren, caught in action while cutting 4×4 inch cardboard squares. He had no idea arts and crafts could play such an important role in the sciences.
We had a bittersweet farewell to make this month. Kristen and I took Efren to lunch to celebrate the successful completion of his JAK Consulting Services chemistry internship. During his time with us, he learned how to take his classroom studies and apply that knowledge into a real-world environment. He was a crucial part of the development of a quick and dirty quality control program for a woman-owned entrepreneurial pesticide manufacturer. He will receive his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee next month. We really enjoyed having him work with us and wish him the best of luck with his post-college career!
Be sure to contact us when you need pesticide efficacy studies!