Leaf Cutter Ant Control

I generally get several telephone calls concerning leaf cutting ants.  Our options for control are rather limited.  The following recommendations were provided by Dr. Joe Masabni, Extension Small Acreage Vegetable Specialist in College Station.

Organic options:

This publication (http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/5/3/439/htm) has some useful information. Here’s a summary of that publication:

Cultural/Mechanical control

  • Excavate the young next and capture the ant queen! That could be a fun activity… Recommended to be done 3rd to 4th month after nuptial flight; when winged male ants fly off to find female ants – in other words, keep your eyes open for flying leaf-cutter ants.
  • Barriers; plastic tape coated with grease, plastic cylinders and strips of aluminum, plastic or metal on a vertical barrier (apparently have difficulty climbing it).
  • Consider planting the strawberries far away from the leaf cutter ants next year (if possible) and clear the ant mound around of any foliage they may be able to feed on. If strawberries are in permanent/semi-permanent beds, this is impractical.
  • “Plowing can eliminate leaf-cutting ant nests within four months after the nuptial flight, when queens are at 20 cm depth in the soil”
  • Plants like sesame, grass species, castor, and sweet potato may serve as alternative food source or trap crop with toxic or repellent affects

Biological control

  • There are several seemingly effective biological controls, but I did a quick search and couldn’t find the right product and strain for leaf-cutter ant control.
  • Some active ingredients include: Beauvaria bassiana (20- 70% control), Metarhizium anisopliae (ENA04 isolate, above 80% control), Paecilomyces farinosus (above 80% control), Bacillus thuringiensis (HA58 and HA48 isolates, 80% & 100% control, respectively), etc.

Nonorganic Options:

Permethrin sprayed at the entrance of the ant colony works well. I visited a grower yesterday who controlled his leaf cutter ant problem with 1 spray of Permethrin. I think the problem will return so 1 spray is not enough.

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