I love the spring and early summer in Georgia—as the days get longer and temperatures get warmer, I spend more and more time outside, whether just hanging out on the screen porch, working on landscaping projects, riding my horse, or hanging out at the boat ramp. This time of year though, I always get the same recurring questions about two common issues around the home: fire ants and lawn burweed. I’ve written about these topics several times over the years, but it seems it’s time for another reminder of what to do when it comes to these pests.
Fire ant hills are prevalent in almost every county in Georgia and can be seen in yards, pastures, alongside roads, and other places. The first step in pest management is identification. Imported fire ants are often identified by the mounds they build or their bites, but they are also known for their aggressive swarming behavior if their mound is disturbed. Most fire ant mounds will be found in sunny open areas and can reach 18-24 inches high. Integrated Pest Management, which uses cultural, mechanical, and chemical means to reduce and eliminate fire ant colonies in an economically and environmentally friendly way, is the most effective way to manage fire ant populations. The “Two-Step Method” is a common approach to managing fire ants and involves baiting and treating individual mounds. The first step, baiting, involves broadcasting an insecticide-treated bait at 1-1.5lbs per acre and can suppress up to 90% of ant populations when used correctly. It is usually recommended that bait be broadcasted in late spring/early summer and again in the fall for the best control. The second step in this method is to apply an individual mound treatment to any nuisance colonies that are present in high-traffic areas.
Lawn burweed which is a winter annual weed that germinates in thin, poorly established turf in the fall. When temperatures climb in the spring, the weed forms spine-tipped burs that can cause discomfort and injury to bare feet during the summer months. Unfortunately, once the hooked burrs are formed, the window for getting rid of them that year is already closed. As with all weeds, maintaining proper soil fertility and a healthy stand of turf can help outcompete weeds and reduce their prevalence. Best practices for turf management include fertilization, mowing, irrigation, pest management, and more. Pre-emergent chemical control is often the best defense against winter weeds like lawn burweed and should be used in the early fall when nightly temperatures drop to 65-70 degrees, well before the seed germinates. If you miss the mark on pre-emergent herbicides, post-emergent control methods are available, but less effective. If burweed plants are still present in your lawn and germinating to produce spikes, spot treatments of herbicides can be used from December to February as the plant is small and easier to control. At this point in the season, the sharp burrs have already formed and will remain after the weed dies, so controlling the weed doesn’t really solve the issue of discomfort. Instead, be sure to mark your calendar for September-October of this fall to get ahead of this issue before it occurs.
If you need additional assistance with burweed, fire ants, or some other pest or weed, please contact us at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.
