Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.

Imported Fire Ant (Solenopis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species): Expansion of Quarantine Areas in Arkansas and Tennessee

Country:
United States
Title:

Imported Fire Ant (Solenopis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species): Expansion of Quarantine Areas in Arkansas and Tennessee

Contact:
Benjamin Slager, Acting National Policy Manager, at 810-844-2704.
Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a Federal Order that expands the existing imported fire ant (IFA) quarantine areas in Arkansas and Tennessee. APHIS is taking this action to prevent the interstate spread of IFA.

The following list describes the action in this Federal Order:

  • Arkansas: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Cross, Franklin, Johnson, Lee, Monroe, St. Francis, and Woodruff Counties.
  • Tennessee: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Fentress, Morgan, and Union Counties.

APHIS is taking these actions based upon verification from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Consumer and Industry Services that IFA is present and established in the areas listed.

Under IPPC standards, Solenopis invicta, S. richteri, and hybrids of these species are a pest that is present: not widely distributed and under official control in the United States.