Official Pest Report

Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.

Imported Fire Ant (Solenopis invicta, S. richteri, and hybrids of these species): APHIS Expands Quarantine Area in Oklahoma and Tennessee

Country: United States

Title:

Imported Fire Ant (Solenopis invicta, S. richteri, and hybrids of these species): APHIS Expands Quarantine Area in Oklahoma and Tennessee

Contact:
Ron Weeks, National Policy Manager, at Ron.D.Weeks@usda.gov or 919-559-4311.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a Federal Order that expands the existing imported fire ant (IFA; S. invicta, S. richteri, and hybrids of these species) quarantine areas in Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The following list describes the action in this Federal Order:

  • Oklahoma: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Haskell County.
  • Tennessee: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Clay, Claiborne, Campbell, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Robertson, and Scott Counties.

APHIS is taking these actions based upon verification from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry and Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Consumer and Industry Services that IFA is present and established in the areas listed. APHIS will follow this action by publishing a Notice in the Federal Register.

The full lists designating IFA quarantine areas and regulated articles are published on the APHIS IFA webpage.

Under IPPC standards, Solenopsis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species are a pest that are present: not widely distributed and under official control in the United States.

Posted Date: Feb. 27, 2024, 4:19 p.m.