An Improved Mirex Bait Formulation for Control of Imported Fire Ants 123

Abstract

A new method was developed for formulating mirex bait for control of Solenopsis richteri Forel and Solenopsis invicta Buren. The mirex is incorporated into the outer layer of soybean oil on the corncob grits and the bait is coated with an acrylic latex. The oil content of the formulation can be increased by one-third, thus more oil or food attractant is available to the ants. Incorporation of the mirex in the oil on the surface of the grits makes a greater percentage of the insecticide available to the ants (89 vs. 55% in the standard bait). Field tests in Georgia with aerial applications of the new formulation against S. invicta showed that the coated bait containing 0.1% mirex and applied at 1.0 1b per acre gave control comparable to standard bait containing 0.3 % mirex applied at a rate of 1¼ lb per acre (99.6 vs. 99.1%, respectively).