Jacqui Haygood
Assistant Professor

Amanda Harman
Graduate Student

Cindy Akers
Assistant Professor

Harlan Thorvilson
Professor
Texas Tech University

Background

ABSTRACT

The advancement of the Red Imported Fire Ant in Texas is causing a growing concern about the lack of awareness about fire ant control. One of the main goals of the Texas Fire Ant Plan is to “develop a strong
educational program designed to quickly move new products and procedures into the public and private sectors of both rural and urban environments to effectively manage fire ants.”

The purpose of this study was to provide an accurate assessment of the Texas Cooperative Extension communication and educational programming efforts as related to red imported fire ant control. One
hundred twenty members of the Texas Cooperative Extension were surveyed using the bimodal survey model. This model uses a combination of electronic and paper contacts to encourage respondents
to answer an online or paper questionnaire. An overall response rate of 80% resulted from the use of the 25-day model.

Results of the survey show that 25 of the county agricultural agents have attended more than four fire ant training sessions, while 30 have had no training. Thirty-seven percent ranked themselves of knowing a little more than a novice when asked about fire ant biology, 47.7% ranked themselves as somewhat of experts. The majority of the respondents consider the red imported fire ant to be a major problem in the next 10
years.

When asked about the products currently available for red imported fire ant control, the majority of the participants thought that the products worked most of the time. Broadcast bait, the Texas Two-Step Method and mound treatments were considered somewhat effective by the participants.

The majority of the participants have conducted more than four fire ant programs with the help of the Internet, Texas A&M Website, extension publications, newsletters, “Spring Fling” media kit, the Red Imported Fire Ant Awareness Week Packets, fact sheets, fellow Agricultural agents, Integrated Pest Management Agents, and other state specialists.

This study also determined that fact sheets, news releases, Power Point presentations, kits and information of organizations would be the most useful for future red imported fire ant programming.

BACKGROUND

With the importation of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren; Hymenoptera: Formicidae) to the United States from South America and its movement into Texas during the 1950s, there is a growing concern for damage caused by the fire ant (Chenault, 1998). There are dozens of fire ant species in South America, but two species reek havoc in the United States, the black imported fire ant and the red imported fire ant. The black imported fire ant, Solenopsis richteri, was imported from Argentina in ship ballast to Mobile, Alabama, in 1918. However, the species that is the most damaging in Texas is the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren that also arrived in Mobile, Alabama, during the late 1920s or early 1930s (Fire Ant Plan, 2000). Because fire ants have no natural competitors, parasites or predators in North America, it only took until the 1950s for the red imported fire ant to reach Texas (Chenault, 1998). "Over the last 76 years, imported fire ants have spread to infest over nine southern states and over 275 million acres within the United States" (Fire Ant Plan, 2000, p.1).

Red imported fire ants cause an estimated $300 million dollars in damage annually in Texas (Parsons & Chenault, 1997). In fact, an estimated $67 million in damage is caused in the beef cattle industry annually. Fire ant damage not only affects rural areas, it affects urban areas as well. Urban residents spend more than $90 million a year to control fire ants in their yards and repair damage caused by the red imported fire ant (Chenault, 1998).

In 1995, the Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Project were developed through line item funding from the Texas Legislature (TX Tell, 2001). Many organizations are working on the Fire Ant Research and Management Plan, including the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas Cooperative Extension (formerly known as the Texas Agricultural Extension Service), Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Tech University, University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (Chenault, 1997). The purposes of the project are: (1) find long-term solutions to the fire ant problem (Parsons, 1997), (2) coordinate research efforts among universities in Texas, (3) explore new technology such as biological control agents and potential weaknesses in the ant’s biology (Chenault, 1997), and (4) to assist curriculum specialists with developing materials to promote fire ant awareness.

Theoretical Framework

“Targeting Outcomes of Programs (Figure 1) focuses on outcomes in planning, implementing, and evaluating programs” (Bennett & Rockwell, 1995, p. 1). Targeting Outcomes of Programs uses this framework to target outcomes in program development and to assess the degree to which the outcome targets are reached. Targeting Outcomes of Programs was used to evaluate the past performance of programs and the future programs presented on fire ant awareness activities by agricultural county agents in quarantine counties.


Figure 1. TOP Model (Bennett & Rockwell, 1995).

Statement of the Problem

With the advancement of the red imported fire ant into Texas, growing concern about the lack of fire ant awareness control exists. One of the main goals of the Fire Ant Plan is to "develop a strong educational program designed to quickly move new products and procedures into the public and private sectors of both rural and urban environments to effectively manage fire ants" (Fire Ant Plan, 2000, p.2). The purpose of this study was to provide an accurate assessment of the Texas Cooperative Extension educational programming and communications efforts as it relates to RIFA control. Currently, there is a dearth of information about fire ant educational efforts. Therefore, a study needed to be conducted to determine the effectiveness of fire ant awareness activities in the quarantined counties in the state of Texas.

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this study was to provide an accurate assessment of the Texas Cooperative Extension educational programming efforts as it relates to red imported fire ant control. The following objectives were developed to accomplish the purpose of this study:

1. Describe the demographic characteristics of extension agents and extension organization in the fire ant quarantined counties in the state of Texas;
   
2. Determine the level of fire ant awareness of the extension agent in RIFA quarantined counties in Texas;
   
3. Ascertain the common RIFA control practices in quarantined Counties in Texas;
   
4. Describe the current RIFA programming efforts being conducted in quarantined counties in Texas and the outcomes of the programs; and
   
5. Determine what educational and communications materials need to be developed for future RIFA programming in quarantined counties in Texas.

Method

METHODOLOGY

The research design used for this study was a descriptive survey. This study sought to evaluate the awareness activities of fire ant programming with the help of the county agents in the quarantine counties in the state of Texas. The sample for this study included agricultural county agents (158) and Integrated Pest Management (17) agents from the state of Texas within the fire ant quarantine counties (N=175). The assessable population was derived from the Texas Cooperative Extension Personnel Directory. A sample (n=120) was selected according to the population size (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970).

The researcher-developed survey instrument was used for the collection of data using two formats, a web-based and a paper version questionnaire. The questionnaire determined the level of fire ant knowledge and programming conducted by the county agents in the quarantine counties in the state of Texas. The questionnaire gathered demographic information and program data relevant to the study. Demographic and program data were collected for each subject related to: (a) gender, (b) age, (c) years of experience, (d) rank/level in extension, (e) type of fire ant programming conducted in the county, (f) amount of damage to crops and wildlife in the county, (g) materials used from the fire ant media kit, and (h) materials needed by the agents to help make the public more aware of fire ant control measures.

A panel of experts consisting of university personnel from Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University reviewed the instrument to establish of face and content validity. A pilot test was conducted to determine reliability of the instrument. The pilot test sample (n=34) consisted of county agents in the target population, but not included in the sample. Cronbach’s alpha revealed r=.9415 for the questionnaire.

Data collection followed the Bimodal Survey Model as recommended by Hardin (2002). The 25-day process began on June 21, 2002 (day 1) with an e-mail and the final contact came on July 15, 2002 (day 15) when an e-mail thank-you/reminder was again sent to everyone. Following this contact, the researcher waited an additional ten days for late arriving surveys. Ninety-six out of the 120 surveys were returned for an 80% response rate. Three surveys were unusable.

The data were analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, and standard deviations) were used to summarize the data pertaining to: (a) the demographic variables of the county agents, (b) their fire ant training, (c) their self-perceived knowledge of fire ants, and (d) their use of the fire ant media kit.

Results

The study sought to determine the demographic characteristics of extension agents and extension organization in the fire ant quarantined counties in the state of Texas. The results of the study show the majority of the respondents were male (94.4%) while only five respondents were female. The agricultural agents age range was from 25 to 59 with the average age being 42. The agents were employed by Texas Cooperative Extension for an average of 16 years with the employment time ranging from less than a year to 33 years.

Most agents (34.2%) were employed at a Level 2, while 28 percent were Level 1 and 26.8% were level 3. Eleven percent were employed at Level 4. The majority (64.7%) of the participants had been employed in their county for less than a year to nine years. The average number of years spent in the current county was 8.8 years. The most time served in the current county was 19 to 27 years (19.5%). Seventy-seven percent of the participants do not have an Integrated Pest Management Agent in the county.

Objective two of the study sought to determine the level of fire ant awareness of the extension agent in RIFA quarantined counties in Texas. The results were split when asked how many fire ant training sessions the participants had attended, 30 (34.5%) have had no training, while 25 (28.8%) have had rather extensive training as they have attended more than four sessions. The average knowledge of the participants about fire ant biology was also split, 37.5% (33) ranked themselves as knowing a little more than a novice and 47.7% (42) ranked themselves as somewhat of an expert. Half of the participants also considered themselves somewhat an expert when it came to knowledge about fire ant ecology and control.

Although most of the participants considered the residential, public, recreational, rangeland, pasture and row crop area damage mild, they believe fire ants will be a major problem in 10 years in their respective counties. Table one shows that participants considered the damage to wildlife (37.9%), livestock (33.3%) and electrical equipment (40.3%) by fire ants less than severe. The damage to crops and human injuries was considered a little more than minimal. The damage caused to the White-tailed deer population was considered minimal, but the damage done to the Texas horned lizard, Bobwhite quail and other nesting birds was considered more than minimal(Table 1). The majority of the participants considered the damage done to sorghum, soybeans, cotton, wheat, and alfalfa by fire ants as minimal and the damage done to vegetable crops was a little more than minimal (Table 1).


Table 1. Perceived impact damage due to red imported fire ants.


Objective three sought to determine the common fire ant control practices in the county. The majority of the participants (68.6%) thought that red imported fire ant products currently available on the consumer market
work most of the time. Table 2 shows that participants in the quarantine counties considered Broadcast bait (51.2%), the Texas Two-Step Method (49.4%), and mound treatments (47.8%) as somewhat effective means of control.

Table 2. Percentage of three methods used in red imported fire ant treatment.


Objective four sought to determine the programming efforts that are being conducted in fire ant quarantine counties and the outcome of the programs. The main environmental concern of agents in the quarantine counties was the use of the least toxic pesticides when treating fire ants (73%). Participants were also concerned about use of toxic pesticides (66.3%), runoff issues (58.4%), the use of organic pesticides (57.3%) and in biological insect control (50.6%) (Table 3).

Table 3. County environmental issues.



The majority of the participants currently use other county Agricultural agents, Integrated Pest Management Agents and other state specialists as presenters of fire ant programs. The majority of the participants used university researchers, and pest control professionals before 1998 as presenters for fire ant programs. Half of the participants have done more than four fire ant programs in their county with an average attendance of 85. The majority of the participants currently use the Internet, the Texas A&M Website, extension publications, newsletters, “Spring Fling” media kit, the Fire Ant Awareness Week Packets, fact sheets, and CD’s as resources for fire ant programs. The media kit provided by Texas A&M was deemed useful and the items that were the most useful were news releases (6.28), Frequently Asked Questions (5.27) and brochures (5.26) on an 8-point scale. The majority (69%) of the participants agree that the general citizen has some knowledge about fire ant control. The majority (78.5%) of the participants agree that the fire ant control methods are environmentally friendly and incorporate the Texas Two-Step Method into their fire ant control programs.

Objective five sought to determine the educational materials needed for future fire ant programming. This study determined that fact sheets, news releases, Power Point® presentations, kits and organization information would be the most useful for future fire ant programming (Figure 2).

Conclusions

RECOMMENDATIONS

The results of this study show the importance of fire ant programming in fire ant quarantine counties in the state of Texas. The following recommendations were made as a result of this study.

1. Since only 50% of the participants considered themselves somewhat experts when it comes to biology, ecology and control of RIFA, the Texas Cooperative Extension should continue to offer in-service activities for the other 50% of the agents.
   
   
2. This survey should be conducted again to gather longitudinal data and to track the progress of RIFA programming. This will ensure that the programming continues to meet the needs of the agents and public in quarantined counties.
   
   
3. More fact sheets for new chemicals on the market are needed to keep agricultural agents up-to-date.
   
   
4. Agricultural communications specialists should continue to develop presentations aids RIFA programs. They should also continue in their efforts to develop news releases about RIFA research.
   
   
5. Companies specializing in treatment methods for RIFA should be invited to speak with extension agents about proper use of chemicals.
   
   
6. Agents should use a more diverse group of presenters when offering fire ant programs, such as pest control professionals and university researchers.

REFERENCES

Bennett, C. & Rockwell, K. (1995, December). Targeting outcomes of programs (TOP): An integrated approach to planning and evaluation. Retrieved September 27, 2001, from http://deal.unl.edu/TOP/english/applyf.html

Chenault, E. (1997, February). Funding for Fire Ant Management Plan before Texas House and Senate. Retrieved from http://agnews.tamu.edu/stories/ENTO/Feb1297a.htm

Chenault, E. (1998, August). Governor Declares Sept. 14-20 as Fire Ant Awareness Week. Retrieved from http://agnews.tamu.edu/rifacea/govproc.htm

Chenault, E. (1998, March). Control Fire Ant populations with Two-Step Method, Community Programs. Retrieved from http://agnews.tamu.edu/stories/ENTO/Mar2398a.htm

Hardin, Kelly. (2002). The Effects of Delivery mode Upon Survey Response Rate and Perceived Attitudes of Texas Agriscience Teachers. Unpublished master’s thesis, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.

Krejcie, R.V. & Morgan, D.W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610.

Texas Imported Fire Ant Research & Management Plan Summary. Retrieved September 17, 2001, from http://fireant.tamu.edu/plan/summary.htm

Parsons, G. (1997, March). Fire Ant Management Plan Brings Out Opportunists. Retrieved from http://agnews.tame.edu/stories/Ento/Mar0397a.htm

Parsons, G., & Chenault, E. (1997, May). Texas Legislature Approves Fire Ant Control Measure. Retrieved from http://agnews.tamu.edu/stories/ENTO/May3097a.htm

TxTell: Fire Ant Research. Retrieved September 17, 2001, from http://txtell.lib.utexas.edu/stories/f0001-full.html