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 (Solenopsis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species): Expansion of Quarantine Areas in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Country: United States

Title: Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species): Expansion of Quarantine Areas in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Contact:
Richard Johnson, National Policy Manager, at (301) 851-2109.

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 North Carolina and Tennessee. APHIS is taking this action to prevent the interstate spread of IFA.

The following list describes the actions in this Federal Order:

  • North Carolina: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Warren County.

  • Tennessee: Extends the IFA quarantine area to the entire county for Cumberland, Hamblen and Jefferson Counties and to portions of Trousdale County.

APHIS is taking these actions based upon verification from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture that IFA is present and established in the areas listed.

Under IPPC standards, Imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species) are pests that are considered present only in some parts of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Posted Date: April 23, 2018, 9 a.m.