fire ants and texas nursing homes staff roles and responsibilities the texas fire ant in nursing...
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![Page 1: Fire Ants and Texas Nursing Homes Staff roles and responsibilities The Texas Fire Ant in Nursing Home Project Texas Cooperative Extension Texas A&M University](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062222/56649c855503460f9493ad4c/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Fire Ants and Texas Nursing HomesStaff roles and responsibilities
The Texas Fire Ant in Nursing Home Project
Texas Cooperative Extension
Texas A&M University SystemProject Coordinator: Michael Merchant
17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599
972-231-5362
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Red Imported Fire Ant
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Fire ant workers
• Vary in size – (2-5 mm, 1/16-3/16
inch)
• Most of the colony consists of female workers– Defend the colony– collect food– care for queen and
brood
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Fire ant stings
• 80% of Texans have been stung by fire ants
• Stings produce severe burning and itching at site
• Can also cause allergic response
image by Matt Yoder
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The Sting
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Fire ant mounds
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Fire Ants
• Respond quickly to nest disturbance
• Live in large “colonies”– 100,000 to
500,000 workers
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How do fire ants find food?
• Workers forage randomly from nest
• Successful workers recruit others to food or water source
• Rapid recruitment within minutes
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Ant foraging trails
• Ant that finds food lays down odor trail when traveling to nest
• Other ants follow trail and reinforce it
• Removing trails with common cleaners disrupts attachment to food source
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How fire ants enter buildings
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What to look for• Outdoor mounds• Live or dead ants• Soil and debris in
resident rooms• Cracks and
openings• Risky conditions
– food– spillage– soiled linens,
clothing
Look for soil, debris or ants along walls and baseboards
Look for outdoor mounds within 100 feet of buildings
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Who’s at risk?
• Mobility-, sensory- or communication-impaired residents
• Bedfast residents (6% of nursing home residents nationally)
• ADL dependent residents (estimated 3,375 Texas nursing home residents)
• Catheterized residents (6.5% nationally)
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Consequences of not addressing fire ant problems• Increased risk to
residents• Increased liability for
facility*– failure to provide a
clean and safe environment free of pests and rodents
– failure to have written policies and procedures to prohibit…neglect and abuse of residents
*42 CFR §483.70 (h)(4) [TAG f469], and 42 CFR §483.13 (c) [TAG f224], respectively
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National Conference Urban Entomology, May 2006
Michael Merchant, Texas A&M Univ. Research Center, Dallas [email protected]
Documented fire ant stinging cases in long-term care facilitiesDate Location Victim Citation
1991 Abilene,TX 2 deaths, one survivor Drees (1995)
1992 Houston, TX Elderly female, delayed death Drees (1995)
unrecorded FL 74 yr old female, no reported consequences deShazo and Banks (1994)
Unrecorded TX 90 y female, death 6 days later deShazo and Williams (1995)
8-17-1998 Houston, TX Elderly male stung 2000+ times, recovered. Houston Chronicle 4-8-2003
8-30-1998 Brookhaven, MS 67 y female, 500+ stings, died 5 days later deShazo et al (1999)
2-15-1997 Starkville, MS 60 y male, confluent areas of stings on head, back, arms, chest, d 16 month later
deShazo et al (1999)
7-1-1998 Flower Mound, TX 89 y female, d 3 mo. later Dallas Observer 10-5-2000
5-1-2000 North Port, FL 87 y female, 1600+ stings, d ? days later Miami Herald 5-26-2000
5-29-2000 Hollywood, FL 85 y female, recovered Merchant case files
8-20-2000 Mobile, AL 30s female with mental incapacities, stung hundreds of times, recovered
Merchant case files, Mobile Register 9/7/2000, 10/4/2000
7-19-2001 Palm Beach, FL Elderly male, outcome unknown Palm Beach Post
8-5-2001 Galveston, TX 82 y old female, hundreds of stings, d 3 wks later Houston Chronicle 3/18/2004
4-2002 Bradenton, FL 90 y old female; arm, neck, back, upper torso covered with stings. $1.2 m award
Orlando Sentinel 6-5-2004
8-23-2002 Tyler, TX 91 y old female stung 600+ times. d 6 mo later, unrelated causes, $300K award
Houston Chronicle, 9-8-2002
8-30-2003 Lake Mary, FL Elderly female covered with stings upper body, d later of unrelated causes
Merchant case files
7-7-2004 Calloway, FL Elderly female with numerous fire ant stings, recovered Merchant case files
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What can your facility do?
• Establish contract with reputable pest management company
• Make contractor aware of at-risk patients
• Assign responsible person(s) as contacts for contractor
• Establish and communicate written policy concerning fire ant control and what to do in case of sighting
• Assign staff roles• Nighttime bed checks important for
at-risk residents
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What can you do?• Report fire ant signs
immediately• Remove at-risk patients
from infested room • Record report in pest
control complaint log• Remove foraging trails
with approved cleaning agent
• Collect ants for pest control company
collect ants in ethyl or rubbing alcohol for preservation
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http://fireants.tamu.edu
Texas Imported Fire Ant research and Management Plan
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The Texas Fire Ant in Nursing Home Project
• Mike Merchant, Dallas, TX• Janet Hurley, Dallas, TX• Paul Nester, Houston, TX• Wizzie Brown, Austin, TX• Molly Keck, San Antonio, TX• Kim Schofield, Dallas, TX