Fire ant regulations in effect

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Freshly picked corn and juicy red tomatoes fill the bins at Cullipher's Family market. The family makes a living out of offering home grown fruits and veggies to folks in the area. Yet the produce, as seedlings, may have brought an unwelcome guest to the farm.

"They're real prevalent south of here and even on crates, they come in on wooden crates that are packed in the field. They're packed up and shipped up here. They either came in on the vegetable plants or the crates is our best guess," says Mike Cullipher.

Prior to 2007, state officials found 33 sites in the region, but in the 6 months from July 1 to December 31, 2008, they found 642 sites.

Mike hasn't seen any fire ants this year, but he has found himself involved in a temporary quarantine of items that could carry the ants. The state regulates any soil, plants attached to soil, sod, used soil-moving equipment, used farm equipment, hay, straw, pine straw, logs and wood.

Cullipher's farm grows winter grasses. "We grow four different varieties of shoreline plants and some of those are shipped inside the area and some are shipped outside area," Cullipher said.

Officials with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the quarantine will not affect goods moved within the area, which includes all of Hampton Roads, but anything moved out will have to be inspected.

The agency has set up a compliance program which moves the process along, said Larry Nichols. "We would send someone out, one of our inspectors would go out and meet with him, go over the provisions of the compliance agreement and it could be signed and ready to go almost immediately," Nichols said.

Cullipher says time is money and he doesn't want to loose focus on what matters the most.

"It's just like any other new regulation, or policy. It's another layer. It's just one more thing you have to do," Cullipher told WAVY.com.

WAVY.com learned the quarantine will most likely become permanent in August. The state is leaving fire ant treatment to property owners. In July, the Department of Agriculture will release a parasitic fly to help combat the problem in the area. The tiny phorid fly dive bombs the ants and lays eggs.

A maggot that hatches inside the ant, slowly eats away at its brain and causes the ant to act like a zombie. In about two weeks, its head pops off and a new fly goes after any other ants in the area. The location of the flies release has not been decided.

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In an effort to stop the spread of the Red Imported Fire Ant, The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has announced a temporary quarantine on the movement of regulated articles in the lower Peninsula and greater Tidewater areas of Southeastern Virginia. The quarantine applies to the counties of James City and York and the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.

Regulated articles include: soil, plants with soil attached, grass sod, used soil-moving equipment, used farm equipment, hay/straw/pine straw, honey bee hives that have been in contact with the ground, and logs, pulp wood or stump wood with soil attached, according to the VDACS.

VDACS Commissioner Todd P. Haymore said in a news release, "We do not expect the fire ant quarantine to have a negative economic impact on the area." "We will work with the affected communities and businesses to make sure that the quarantine will not deter economic growth in the greater Hampton Roads area while helping to keep an injurious pest that can be quite harmful to humans, pets and agricultural animals from moving to other areas of the state," Haymore continued.

VDAC says regulated articles must be certified before being transported out of the quarantined area.free of imported fire ants can be transported out of the quarantined area. Fortunately, if you're unsure the VDACS' Office of Plant and Pest Services (OPPS) inspectors can conduct an inspection for you and determine whether or not you have fire ants.

Business and individuals may also enter into a compliance agreement with VDACS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (USDA-APHIS) that allows for self-certification of regulated articles.

Two educational meetings have been set up to address questions related to the quarantine:

• July 1, 2009, 1 - 3 p.m. - Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 1444 Diamond Springs Road, Room: 125 A & B, Virginia Beach, VA 23455
• July 10, 2009, 10 a.m. to noon - Tabb Library, adjacent to lobby, 100 Long Green Blvd., Yorktown, VA 23693

"I urge concerned citizens as well as affected businesses to attend these meetings," said Commissioner Haymore. "I believe people will find them a good source of information