What method do golf course managers use to manage fire ants?

What method do golf course managers use to manage fire ants?

• A. Crop rotation
• B. Pesticide application
• C. Frequent mowing
• D. Soil aeration

Answer: (B)

Fire ants on turf require a direct attack on the pest population, and using pesticides is the most effective and practical way to do that on a golf course. Insecticide applications—whether granular baits that workers carry back to the colony or mound treatments that kill the colony workers and queens—target the ants where they live and move, reducing both nuisance and damage across greens, fairways, and tees. Other practices don’t address the root problem. Crop rotation is about changing crops over time and doesn’t remove established fire ant colonies in a turf environment. Frequent mowing changes grass height but doesn’t eliminate the ants or their nests. Soil aeration improves soil structure and can help turf health, but it doesn’t reliably reduce or eradicate ant colonies.

Fire ants on turf require a direct attack on the pest population, and using pesticides is the most effective and practical way to do that on a golf course. Insecticide applications—whether granular baits that workers carry back to the colony or mound treatments that kill the colony workers and queens—target the ants where they live and move, reducing both nuisance and damage across greens, fairways, and tees.

Other practices don’t address the root problem. Crop rotation is about changing crops over time and doesn’t remove established fire ant colonies in a turf environment. Frequent mowing changes grass height but doesn’t eliminate the ants or their nests. Soil aeration improves soil structure and can help turf health, but it doesn’t reliably reduce or eradicate ant colonies.