KAILUA-KONA — Janice Palma-Glennie first felt the fiery sting one afternoon as she pulled vines from her trees. She was overcome with pain in a matter of seconds.
“It felt like someone was putting cigarettes out on my chest,” she recalled. “I couldn’t imagine what it was. I thought it was a sap.”
After she showered, extreme discomfort persisted for more than a week — signs of trauma evident across her skin in the form of pronounced welts. She did a little digging online and the culprits soon became clear: Little Fire Ants. And there’s little sign they’re letting up in West Hawaii.
LFA
Little Fire Ants (LFA), first discovered on Hawaii Island in 1999, likely arrived as hidden passengers in imported nursery plants.
LFA are perhaps the quintessential example of an invasive species. They disrupt ecosystems, adversely affect agricultural production and pose a threat to both human health and tourism.
They are yellow-red or light brown in color, and the workers typically grow to no more than 1.5 millimeters in length. According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources website, they nest in trees, potted plants, irrigation lines and electrical boxes.
The tiny terrors pack a painful sting, causing welts that may last for weeks, and also damage fields and farms, promoting the persistence of plant pests by insulating them from parasites and natural predators.
LFA have also been known to reek havoc on household pets. Palma-Glennie said her house cat has cloudy eyes, a possible symptom of prolonged exposure to LFA bites, which can cause animal blindness. She recounted a time when a neighboring dog went into shock because of assaults by members of a nearby colony.
Casper Vanderwoude, research manager at Hawaiian Ant Lab, said the species now ubiquitous on the east side of the Big Island first established itself in the south Hilo area. But over the last five years, infestations have popped up across the Kona side of the island, increasing in frequency during the last few years despite the rainforest species’ affinity for wet, shady places.
“(Infestations) seem to be scattered all along from the airport to Captain Cook, so basically the entire West Coast,” he said.
Financing the Fight
Hawaiian Ant Lab is an unfunded project at the University of Hawaii, operating via discretionary funds and competitive grants for which it must apply on an annual basis. Its major financial partners are the Hawaii Invasive Species Council and the Department of Agriculture.
The lab is on the front line of efforts to educate and manage LFA infestations on the Big Island, occasionally travelling to neighbor islands to aid in eradication efforts, where such efforts remain feasible goals.
Rep. Nicole Lowen, who represents the District 6 areas of Kailua-Kona, Holualoa, Kalaoa and Honokohau, has introduced multiple bills with other members of the Hawaii Island delegation over the last two years in hopes of increasing funding to combat LFA.
House Bill 1607, introduced in January of this year, would have appropriated funds to establish a pilot pesticide treatment coupon project to operate within existing efforts to curb the LFA population. It would have also created an LFA site map to track colony locations.
“Because of a high number of landscape businesses and for various other reasons, often (Hawaii Island) gets these pests first,” Lowen said. “I was disappointed it did not pass last (session). I’m hopeful we will get something eventually.”
Jessinie Akui, an employee at the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council, said the organization is projecting it will soon be able to extend its voucher program to include substantial discounts on state-approved LFA treatments, complete with mixing instructions.
Currently, the voucher program supplies citric acid spray at a discounted price to help Big Island residents control coqui frog populations.
Identification, education and treatment
For now, much of what the county and state can offer are only identification services and educational resources.
Those who suspect LFA on their property should lay out chopsticks or dry popsicle sticks thinly layered with peanut butter. Within 30 minutes to an hour, LFA should make themselves known.
At that point, residents should contact the the Department of Agriculture or Hawaiian Ant Lab to arrange a home visit or transport of the specimen to a lab for identification.
Links on Hawaiian Ant Lab’s website, www.littlefireants.com, offer various treatment options.
“Cans of raid or spraying something on the ground uses a lot more pesticides,” Vanderwoude said. “We look for solutions to minimize the use of pesticides and give you the biggest bang for your buck at the same time.”
The suggested method is to bait first, then blast. Baits limit the use of environmentally harmful pesticides, containing a small amount of toxin workers carry back to the nest and distribute among the colony’s population.
One bait favored throughout the Big Island is TANGO, an insect growth regulator that sterilizes queens, hindering re-population efforts.
The next step is to employ barrier treatments, long-lasting residual toxins, which kill LFA that contact them. It’s important not to mix bait and barrier treatments because ant travel between the bait source and the colony is crucial to produce desired results at the beginning of the months-long process.
The final element to effective treatment is a unified effort among neighbors throughout residential areas.
“When I was stung, I realized what people were talking about,” Palma-Glennie said. “When we tried treating them, I realized how difficult that was.”
Coordinating efforts are crucial, because if even one home doesn’t participate or doesn’t implement treatments properly, the LFA population will persist and eventually re-populate.
Some Hawaii Islanders have connected with the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, which runs pilot programs to coordinate efforts in residential communities and demonstrate appropriate treatment methods. There are also a few pilot programs being implemented in county parks for public LFA management.
Vanderwoude said despite the difficulty of treatment and the sometimes discouraging results it produces, west-side residents shouldn’t lose hope.
“The situation on the East Coast of Hawaii Island is a lot more serious and widespread,” he said. “The West Coast is a delayed repeat of what is happening here. But because it is dryer on the west side, it should be easier to manage for homeowners and businesses.”