Plant Industry - Plant Protection Section

Imported Fire Ant Treatments

Approved Imported Fire Ant (IFA)Treatments for Nursery Stock, Balled or in Containers:

Method D - Incorporation of Granular Insecticides Into Potting Media in Which Containerized plants Are Grown

Procedure - Use soil-mixing equipment that will adequately mix and thoroughly blend the required dosage of pesticide throughout the potting media.

Insecticide and Dosage - At press time (December 2006), three products are registered and approved for incorporation into potting media. Granular bifenthrin, granular tefluthrin, or granular fipronil may be used. Dosage is based on the bulk density of the potting media and the desired certification period. Dosage is expressed as parts per million (p/m) and calculated by the following formula:

(Bulk density of media x desired p/m) = lb of insecticide needed per cubic yard of media

concentration of pesticide

Example #1 - Assume that a potting medium that weighs 500 lb/yd^3 is to be treated with granular bifenthrin (0.2 percent) at a rate of 25 p/m:

(500 x 0.000025) / 0.002 = 6.25 lb of bifenthrin needed per cubic yard medium.

Example #2 - Assume that a potting medium with a dry weight bulk density of 625 lb/yd^3 is to be treated with granular tefluthrin (1.5 percent) at a rate of 25 p/m:

(625 x 0.000025) / 0.015= 1.0 lb of tefluthrin needed per cubic yard medium.

Certification Period - Refer to the following chart to obtain certification period for a given dosage rate.

Application Rates for Incorporation of bifenthrin, tefluthrin, or fipronil Into Potting Media

Use this link to view and/or print a listing of MITIGATIVE MEASURES required to minimize the impact of IFA quarantine treatments on the environment and human health.