Data from: Acceptance of fire ant baits by nontarget ants in Florida and California

Invasive red imported fire ant, <i>Solenopsis invicta</i>, infestations can be cleared from areas with baits, but these areas are often reinfested. To facilitate biotic resistance strategies to reinfestation, acceptance of commercial fire ant baits by nontarget ants was determined in Alachua County Florida and in Riverside County California. Presented are counts of four ant species that accepted baits among eight baits containing seven active ingredients in Florida. Also included are counts of four ant species in California that accepted baits among five of the fire ant baits. Tests were conducted in the field at nests or on actively trailing ants, for all species except for <i>Monomorium floricola</i>, which were from laboratory reared colonies. Zero or low counts of ants for a particular bait implies non-acceptance of that bait. Non-acceptance of a bait by several nontarget ant species would indicate which bait(s) exhibited more specificity to fire ants. None of the fire ant bait products tested exhibited non-acceptance by all the nontarget ant species evaluated. To conserve nontarget ants, fire ant bait selection will need to consider the nontarget ants present at individual sites and specific bait(s), that are least accepted by these ants.