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 (Solenopsis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species): Expansion of Quarantine Areas for the Imported Fire Ant in Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia

Country: United States

Title: Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species): Expansion of Quarantine Areas for the Imported Fire Ant in Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia

Contact:
Herbert Bolton, IFA National Policy Manager, at 301-851-3594.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a Federal Order that expands the existing imported fire ant (IFA) quarantine areas in Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia. APHIS is taking this action to prevent the interstate spread of IFA.

The following list describes the action in this Federal Order:

  • Arkansas: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Logan, Prairie,  Sebastian, and White Counties.
  • North Carolina: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Davidson, Orange, and Vance Counties.
  • Oklahoma: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Pittsburg County.
  • Virginia: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Brunswick, Greensville, Isle of Wight, Mecklenburg, and Southampton Counties and the cities of Emporia and Franklin.

APHIS is taking these actions based upon verification from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture; the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the State of Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry; and the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that IFA is present and established in the areas listed.

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

Posted Date: June 23, 2021, 8:36 a.m.