A high-temperature steam killing device and killing method for controlling Solenopsis invicta in urban green spaces

Abstract

The present invention discloses a high-temperature steam killing device and a killing method suitable for controlling red imported fire ants in urban green areas, which includes an outer pipe. The outer pipe includes an upper outer pipe section, a middle outer pipe section, and a lower outer pipe section. A plurality of uniformly distributed outer pipe steam outlets are provided in the middle outer pipe section; an inner pipe is movably arranged inside the outer pipe. The inner pipe includes an upper inner pipe section, a middle inner pipe section, and a lower inner pipe section. The end of the upper inner pipe section is open and is connected to a gas source through a hose. The end of the lower inner pipe section is closed. A plurality of uniformly distributed inner pipe steam outlets are provided in a region with a length of S in the middle inner pipe section; a heat preservation covering blanket for covering the ant mound, and a pipe socket for inserting the outer pipe is provided on the covering blanket. The present invention has a simple structure and is convenient to operate, and uses high-temperature steam to improve the effect of killing red imported fire ants.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a high-temperature steam killing device and a killing method suitable for controlling Solenopsis invicta in urban green spaces. Background Art

[0002] Solenopsis invicta Buren, native to South America, belongs to the genus Solenopsis in the subfamily Myrmicinae of the family Formicidae, order Hymenoptera, and is a eusocial insect. It is one of the 100 most harmful alien invasive species announced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. According to the monitoring of the agricultural and rural departments, it occurs in urban park green spaces, farmlands, forests and other public areas. This ant has a fierce habit and strong reproductive ability. It can feed on a variety of animals and plants, and can harm humans and many small animals, posing a serious threat and harm to the health of humans and livestock, ecological security, agricultural production and public safety in the invaded areas. In urban areas, the main harms of Solenopsis invicta are damaging urban green spaces and endangering the safety of citizens, etc.

[0003] Currently, the control of Solenopsis invicta in urban areas mainly includes chemical control methods, physical control methods and biological control methods.

[0004] Chemical control is currently the most direct and effective method for controlling Solenopsis invicta. The main active ingredients of chemical agents include indoxacarb, fipronil, hydramethylnon, beta-cypermethrin, etc.; the dosage forms are mainly baits, followed by powders, and there are fewer wettable powders and emulsions, only 1 kind each. Since the distribution range of Solenopsis invicta is generally relatively wide, and the water injection method for nest treatment requires a lot of labor, in the actual control process, mainly bait trapping, powder nest killing and other methods are used. However, this method of using chemical agents to control Solenopsis invicta is likely to harm non-target organisms, resulting in more serious damage to the ecological system in the local environment while controlling Solenopsis invicta. However, due to the lack of highly efficient, stable and environmentally friendly control agents in the current market, if a large amount of chemical agents are used in urban areas, it is easy to pollute the surrounding environment and urban water bodies.

[0005] Physical control methods mainly include boiling water treatment method and flooding method. The main problems of the boiling water treatment method are that the amount of boiling water used each time is relatively large (more than 6 liters), and it is necessary to wet all areas of the ant nest as much as possible. The success rate of single treatment is relatively low, and continuous treatment for multiple days is required (generally 5 - 10 consecutive days). At the same time, boiling water treatment is likely to harm the green plants, and it is easy to form bald patches on the green space surface after treatment. Plants need to be replanted later. At the same time, strict isolation of citizens is required during boiling water treatment. The flooding method requires directly excavating the ant mound and putting the entire ant nest into a bucket filled with about 15 - 20 liters of cleaning solution and placing it for more than about 24 hours. During the excavation process, it is vulnerable to attack by Solenopsis invicta and cannot handle areas with a large damage area. At the same time, like the boiling water treatment method, it is easy to damage the green space and plants need to be replanted later. Both of the above methods require a lot of labor.

[0006] The use of low-toxicity and highly effective biological control methods to control pests has long attracted wide attention. At present, for the control of Solenopsis invicta, the main biological control technologies include natural enemy control methods and fungal infection and parasitism methods.

[0007] The natural enemy control method mainly eliminates Solenopsis invicta by cultivating and releasing the fire ant parasitic flea fly. Since the fire ant parasitic flea fly has obvious host specificity and only parasitizes the invasive red fire ant, it is relatively secure in terms of ecological safety. However, at present, there is less research and introduction work on this parasitic flea fly in China.

[0008] Fungal parasitism mainly weakens the entire ant nest by infecting Solenopsis invicta with fungi, so as to achieve the goal of eliminating the Solenopsis invicta population. At present, research on the pathogenicity of fungi such as Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae to Solenopsis invicta has been carried out in China, and it has been found that they all have strong pathogenicity to Solenopsis invicta and have good killing effects after infection. However, the current research mainly focuses on the laboratory, and there is less research on how to effectively apply it on a large scale in urban areas.

[0009] The control measures of Solenopsis invicta in urban areas are restricted by many factors such as safety, time and natural conditions.

[0010] Solenopsis invicta mainly appears in urban green spaces in urban areas. Urban green spaces are closely connected with the lives and travels of citizens. Therefore, when choosing a method to kill Solenopsis invicta, the safety factors that need to be considered include but are not limited to the physical safety and psychological safety of citizens. Therefore, methods such as killing with boiling water and chemical agents, which are somewhat dangerous and may damage the integrity and beauty of the green space after completion, are more restricted in urban areas.

[0011] The time requirement for killing Solenopsis invicta is to be rapid and efficient. If the time occupied in the green space is too long, it will also affect the lives of citizens. At the same time, methods such as spreading bait or poisoning with medicine have high requirements for the weather. It is necessary to maintain good weather within a certain period of time and there should be no precipitation in the short term. Otherwise, after the bait is washed away by precipitation, it is easy to harm the native arthropods in the area and there is also a possibility of polluting the environment. At the same time, due to the strong accessibility of urban green spaces, the bait may also harm citizens.

[0012] The choice of killing method also needs to consider economic issues. The maintenance funds for urban green spaces are limited. If the cost-effectiveness ratio of the Solenopsis invicta killing method is low, it may result in the killing area only covering a part.

[0013] Through investigation and research, Solenopsis invicta has the following growth characteristics:

[0014] The red imported fire ant population is powerful. The red imported fire ant has a miscellaneous diet and strong foraging ability. A mature single-queen ant nest has about 50,000 to 240,000 individuals, and a mature multi-queen ant nest has about 100,000 to 500,000 individuals. Among them, worker ants account for the vast majority. The large number of worker ants has a wide attack range. In addition, the food of the red imported fire ant includes various insects and other arthropods, invertebrates, vertebrates, plants, carrion, etc., as well as honey, sugar, protein, fat, etc. It can feed on the seeds of 149 wild flowers and plants and 57 kinds of crops. At the same time, it is extremely aggressive. The pain after being stung is like being burned by fire, and then blisters like burns will appear. It poses a huge threat to the ecological environment safety, agricultural production safety and residents' safety around the ant nest.

[0015] The multi-queen social form of the red imported fire ant makes the population extremely easy to recover quickly after suffering a major reduction. The queen in a mature ant nest lays about 1,500 - 5,000 eggs per day. The eggs develop into adults: ordinary worker ants take about 20 - 45 days, large worker ants take about 30 - 60 days, and soldier ants, queens and male ants take about 180 days. At the same time, to protect the queen, the queen of the red imported fire ant will have a separately dug passage and chamber deep in the ant nest and seal the opening to prevent predators from invading. In some investigations, even an extreme case of 98 queens was found in one nest. These characteristics all cause that once a queen in an ant nest escapes during the prevention and control of the red imported fire ant, it will return to its original state in a short time.

[0016] All the above reasons determine the difficulty of controlling the red imported fire ant in the urban green area. Summary of the Invention

[0017] One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a high-temperature steam killing device suitable for controlling the red imported fire ant in the green area of the urban area. The device has a simple structure, is easy to operate, and can be reused.

[0018] It includes:

[0019] An outer tube, including an upper outer tube section, a middle outer tube section and a lower outer tube section from top to bottom. The ends of the upper outer tube section and the lower outer tube section are open. The upper outer tube section is provided with a card slot, and the middle outer tube section is provided with a number of uniformly distributed outer tube steam outlets.

[0020] An inner tube movably arranged inside the outer tube, including an upper inner tube section, a middle inner tube section and a lower inner tube section from top to bottom. The end of the upper inner tube section is open and is connected to a gas source through a hose. The end of the lower inner tube section is closed. A section with a length of S in the middle inner tube section is provided with a number of uniformly distributed inner tube steam outlets. The upper inner tube section is provided with a buckle matching the shape of the card slot.

[0021] A heat preservation covering blanket for covering the ant mound. The covering blanket is provided with a tube insertion opening for inserting the outer tube.

[0022] The present invention also has the following preferred designs:

[0023] The card slot of the present invention is an "L"-shaped opening slot, so that the buckle on the upper section of the inner tube enters the card slot from the opening of the "L"-shaped opening slot. After rotating along the L-shaped bend to the bottom, the inner tube can be fixed inside the outer tube.

[0024] On the outer side of the tube body of the upper section of the outer tube of the present invention, there are fixed ear buckles, and a towing rope can be used on the fixed ear buckles to connect a ground nail to fix the outer tube.

[0025] The inner diameter of the outer tube of the present invention is 20 mm, the lengths of both the upper section and the lower section of the outer tube are 150 mm, and the length of the middle section of the outer tube is 1 m. The specific length of the outer tube can be set according to the size of the ant hill. The end of the lower section of the outer tube can be processed into an acute angle as a guiding structure to facilitate inserting the outer tube into the ant hill.

[0026] In a region with a length S = 10 cm near the lower section of the inner tube of the present invention, a number of the inner tube steam outlets are opened, and the total length of the inner tube is adapted to the outer tube.

[0027] The size of the inner tube steam outlet of the present invention < the size of the outer tube steam outlet.

[0028] The second object of the present invention is to provide a killing method using the high-temperature steam killing device for controlling red imported fire ants as described above, including the following steps:

[0029] S1. Cover the ant hill with a covering blanket;

[0030] S2. Vertically insert the outer tube into the ant hill from the tube socket of the covering blanket at the top of the ant hill, so that the middle section of the outer tube enters the interior of the ant hill;

[0031] S3. The upper section of the inner tube is connected to a pressurized high-temperature steam source through a hose. Insert the inner tube into the outer tube and make the buckle on the upper section of the inner tube snap into the card slot on the upper section of the outer tube;

[0032] S4. Introduce high-temperature steam into the inner tube. The steam reaches the ant nest in the ant hill from the inner tube steam outlet and the outer tube steam outlet, so that the temperature of the ant nest area where the steam reaches reaches 60 - 80 °C and is maintained for 3 - 5 minutes;

[0033] S5. Keep the outer tube stationary and lift the inner tube upward by a height of S and maintain for 1 - 2 minutes;

[0034] S6. Repeat step S5 until the inner tube steam outlet reaches the top of the ant hill, and then close the steam source;

[0035] S7. Cover the ant hill and the surrounding area of the ant hill with the covering blanket for 1 - 2 hours.

[0036] If the area of the ant nest is large, the insertion position of the outer tube in the ant mound can be adjusted according to the killing effect, and the red imported fire ants in the ant mound can be killed twice or multiple times through the steps S3 to S7.

[0037] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0038] 1. The killing device of the present invention has a simple structure, can be made of stainless steel, is small in size, low in cost, and the sizes of the outer tube and the inner tube can be selected according to the actual situation of the ant mound, and can be reused. It can be flexibly arranged according to the differences in conditions such as the size, depth, and location of the ant nest. The device is inserted into the ant mound protruding on the soil or lawn, and the high-temperature steam acts on the deep part of the ant nest in the ant mound and the core area where the red imported fire ant colony breeds, and has a good overall killing effect on the red imported fire ants. The covering blanket covers the ant mound, which can prevent the operator from being attacked by the red imported fire ants.

[0039] 2. Compared with the traditional method of pouring boiling water to kill red imported fire ants, the main killing medium of the present invention is water vapor, with less water consumption and high steam heat transfer efficiency. The main heat will directly act on the ant nest and will not have the problem of quickly flowing deep into the ground after pouring boiling water; the steam is transported through the pipeline, and there is no need to manually carry boiling water, so the safety is relatively high. And compared with other killing methods, the present invention will not cause any pollution to the soil and has no side effects.

[0040] 3. The killing method of the present invention is simple and fast, and the operation process of high-temperature steam killing takes about 10 minutes to 20 minutes. Description of the Drawings

[0041] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the principle of the prevention and control of red imported fire ants in the green space of the urban area of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 2 is the structural diagram of the outer tube of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 3 is the top view of the outer tube of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 4 is Figure 3 the A-A cross-sectional view of;

[0045] Figure 5 is the connection structural diagram of the inner tube and the hose of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 6 is the top view of the inner tube of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 7 is Figure 6 the B-B cross-sectional view of, and this figure includes the hose.

[0048] Description of the Reference Numerals:

[0049] 1. Ant hill, 2. Ant nest, 3. Deep underground ant tunnel, 4. Foraging passage, 5. Covering blanket, 5a. Pipe socket, 6. Outer pipe, 61. Upper section of the outer pipe, 62. Card slot, 63. Fixed ear buckle, 64. Middle section of the outer pipe, 65. Steam outlet of the outer pipe, 66. Lower section of the outer pipe, 67. Guide structure, 7. Inner pipe, 71. Upper section of the inner pipe, 72. Snap fastener, 73. Middle section of the inner pipe, 74. Steam outlet of the inner pipe, 75. Lower section of the inner pipe, 8. Hose. Detailed implementation mode

[0050] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, so that those of ordinary skill in the art can better understand and implement the technical solution of the present invention.

[0051] As shown in Figure 1 The common ant hill 1 in the green space of the urban area is shown. There are many ant nests 2 distributed in the ant hill 1. The ant nests 2 are connected with deep underground ant tunnels 3. The red imported fire ants will enter and exit the ant nests 2 through the foraging passages 4 on the surface of the green space.

[0052] Combined with Figures 2 to 7 As shown, a high-temperature steam killing device suitable for controlling red imported fire ants in the green space of the urban area includes:

[0053] The outer pipe 6 includes an upper section of the outer pipe 61, a middle section of the outer pipe 64 and a lower section of the outer pipe 66 from top to bottom. The ends of the upper section of the outer pipe 61 and the lower section of the outer pipe 66 are open. The upper section of the outer pipe 61 is provided with a card slot 62, and a plurality of uniformly distributed steam outlets 65 of the outer pipe are opened in the middle section of the outer pipe 64;

[0054] The inner pipe 7 movably arranged inside the outer pipe 6 includes an upper section of the inner pipe 71, a middle section of the inner pipe 73 and a lower section of the inner pipe 75 from top to bottom. The end of the upper section of the inner pipe 71 is open and is connected to the gas source through a hose 8. The end of the lower section of the inner pipe 75 is closed, which can be specifically made into an oval or circular closed end. A section with a length of S in the middle section of the inner pipe 73 is provided with a plurality of uniformly distributed steam outlets 74 of the inner pipe. A snap fastener 72 matching the shape of the card slot 62 is also provided on the upper section of the inner pipe 71;

[0055] A heat-insulating covering blanket 5 for covering the ant hill 1. A pipe socket 5a for inserting the outer pipe 6 is opened on the covering blanket 5. The covering blanket 5 can use a soft rubber round plate, and the specific size is determined by the size of the ant hill.

[0056] As a preferred embodiment:

[0057] The card slot 62 is an "L"-shaped open slot, so that the snap fastener 72 on the upper section of the inner pipe 71 enters the card slot from the opening of the "L"-shaped open slot. After rotating along the L-shaped bend to the bottom, the inner pipe 7 can be fixed inside the outer pipe 6.

[0058] On the outer side of the pipe body of the upper section of the outer pipe 6, there is a fixed ear buckle 63. A traction rope can be used to connect a ground nail to the fixed ear buckle 63 to fix the outer pipe 6.

[0059] The inner diameter of the outer pipe 6 is 20 mm. The lengths of the upper section 61 and the lower section 66 of the outer pipe are both 150 mm, and the length of the middle section 64 of the outer pipe is 1 m. The specific length of the outer pipe 6 can be set according to the size of the ant hill. The length of the outer pipe 6 is adapted to the depth (0.6 - 0.8 m) of most red imported fire ant nests. The end of the lower section 66 of the outer pipe can be processed into an acute angle as a guiding structure 67 to facilitate the insertion of the outer pipe 6 into the ant hill 1.

[0060] In a region with a length S = 10 cm near the lower section 75 of the inner pipe 7 in the middle section 73 of the inner pipe, a number of inner pipe steam outlets 74 are opened. The total length of the inner pipe 7 is adapted to the outer pipe 6. When the inner pipe 7 is inserted into the outer pipe 6 to the maximum depth, the position where the inner pipe steam outlets 74 are located is aligned with the lower end of the position where the outer pipe steam outlets 65 are located.

[0061] The size of the inner pipe steam outlets 74 < the size of the outer pipe steam outlets 65. Specifically, each inner pipe steam outlet 74 is a round hole with a diameter of 2 mm, and each outer pipe steam outlet 65 is a round hole with a diameter of 4 mm.

[0062] The killing method using the above high-temperature steam killing device for red imported fire ant prevention and control includes the following steps:

[0063] S1. Cover the ant hill 1 with the covering blanket 5;

[0064] S2. Vertically insert the outer pipe 6 from the pipe socket 5a of the covering blanket 5 into the ant hill 1 from the top of the ant hill 1, so that the middle section 64 of the outer pipe 6 enters the interior of the ant hill 1. Use a traction rope to connect a ground nail to the fixed ear buckle 63 to fix the outer pipe 6;

[0065] S3. The upper section 71 of the inner pipe 7 is connected to a pressurized high-temperature steam source through a hose 8. Insert the inner pipe 7 into the outer pipe 6, and make the buckle 72 of the upper section 71 of the inner pipe snap into the slot 62 of the upper section 61 of the outer pipe;

[0066] S4. Introduce high-temperature steam into the inner pipe 7. The steam reaches the ant nest 2 and the underground deep ant passage 3 in the ant hill 1 from the inner pipe steam outlets 74 and the outer pipe steam outlets 65, so that the temperature of the ant nest area where the steam reaches reaches 60 - 80 °C and is maintained for 3 - 5 minutes;

[0067] S5. Keep the outer pipe 6 stationary, lift the inner pipe 7 by 10 cm, and maintain for 1 - 2 minutes. In this embodiment, it is necessary to rotate the inner pipe 7 so that the buckle 72 disengages from the slot 62 along the slot 62, and then lift the inner pipe 7;

[0068] S6. Repeat step S5 until the inner pipe steam outlets 74 reach the top of the ant hill 1, and then close the steam source;

[0069] S7. Cover the ant hill 1 and the surrounding area 1 - 2 hours with the covering blanket 5.

[0070] If the area of the ant nest is large, according to the killing effect, the insertion position of the outer tube 6 in the ant hill 1 can be adjusted, and the red imported fire ants in the ant hill can be killed twice or multiple times through steps S3 to S7.

[0071] The above embodiments are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, but cannot be used as a limitation to the invention. Any variations and improvements made based on the concept of the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the present invention, and the specific protection scope shall be subject to the claims.

Claims

1. A high-temperature steam killing method applicable to the prevention and control of red imported fire ants in urban green areas, characterized in that, The high-temperature steam killing device adopted includes: An outer tube, including an upper outer tube section, a middle outer tube section, and a lower outer tube section from top to bottom. The ends of the upper outer tube section and the lower outer tube section are open. A clamping groove is provided on the upper outer tube section, and a number of uniformly distributed outer tube steam outlets are provided on the middle outer tube section. An inner tube movably arranged inside the outer tube, including an upper inner tube section, a middle inner tube section, and a lower inner tube section from top to bottom. The end of the upper inner tube section is open and is connected to a high-temperature steam source through a hose. The end of the lower inner tube section is closed. A number of uniformly distributed inner tube steam outlets are provided in a region with a length of S on the middle inner tube section. A buckle matching the shape of the clamping groove is provided on the upper inner tube section. A heat preservation covering blanket for covering the ant hill, and a tube socket for inserting the outer tube is provided on the heat preservation covering blanket. The killing method includes the following steps: S1. Cover the ant hill with the heat preservation covering blanket. S2. Vertically insert the outer tube into the ant hill from the tube socket of the heat preservation covering blanket at the top of the ant hill, so that the middle outer tube section of the outer tube enters the interior of the ant hill. S3. Connect the upper inner tube section of the inner tube to a pressurized high-temperature steam source through a hose, insert the inner tube into the outer tube, and make the buckle on the upper inner tube section snap into the clamping groove on the upper outer tube section. S4. Introduce high-temperature steam into the inner tube. The steam reaches the ant nest inside the ant hill from the inner tube steam outlets and the outer tube steam outlets, so that the temperature of the ant nest area reached by the steam reaches 60 - 80 °C and is maintained for 3 - 5 minutes. S5. Keep the outer tube stationary, lift the inner tube upward by a height of S, and maintain for 1 - 2 minutes. S6. Repeat step S5 until the inner tube steam outlets reach the top of the ant hill, and then close the high-temperature steam source. S7. Cover the ant hill and the surrounding area of the ant hill with the heat preservation covering blanket for 1 - 2 hours.

2. The high-temperature steam killing method for controlling Solenopsis invicta Buren in the green spaces of urban areas according to claim 1, wherein: The clamping groove is an "L"-shaped open groove.

3. The high-temperature steam killing method for controlling Solenopsis invicta Buren in the green spaces of urban areas according to claim 2, wherein: A fixed ear buckle is provided on the outer side of the tube body of the upper outer tube section.

4. The high-temperature steam killing method for controlling Solenopsis invicta Buren in the green spaces of urban areas according to claim 3, wherein: The inner diameter of the outer tube is 20 mm, the lengths of the upper outer tube section and the lower outer tube section are both 150 mm, and the length of the middle outer tube section is 1 m.

5. The high-temperature steam killing method applicable to the prevention and control of red imported fire ants in urban green areas according to claim 4, characterized in that: A number of the inner tube steam outlets are provided in a region with a length S = 10 cm near the lower inner tube section on the middle inner tube section.

6. The high-temperature steam killing method for controlling Solenopsis invicta Buren in the green spaces of urban areas according to claim 5, wherein: The size of the inner tube steam outlet < the size of the outer tube steam outlet.

7. The high-temperature steam killing method for controlling Solenopsis invicta Buren in the green spaces of urban areas according to claim 1, wherein It also includes the step: Adjust the insertion position of the outer tube in the ant hill, and perform secondary or multiple killings on the red imported fire ants in the ant hill through steps S3 to S7.

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