FIRE ANTS: dangerous invasive pest found almost 99kms south of the NSW-Qld border on Friday 19 January 2024

 

Wardell NSW
Population 803 people (2021)
IMAGE: Google Earth

Echo, 22 January 2023:

Fire ants found in Wardell on Friday were destroyed on Saturday and are no longer a risk to the community living in the immediate area, according to the NSW Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty.

The fire ants in Wardell were originally reported in by a member of the community to the NSW Biosecurity Hotline on Friday and confirmed as fire ants later that day.

The Ballina finding also comes just days after fire ants were spotted floating in floodwaters around the Gold Coast and warnings that fire ants could spread further south after being detected in Murwillumbah.

National Fire Ant Eradication Program

The NSW Department of Primary Industries team moved in with colleagues from the National Fire Ant Eradication Program and Ballina Shire Council to destroy the fire ants, control the site, start tracing the source and survey the surrounding area.

Moriarty said to manage the risks of spread, a biosecurity control order has been put in place with immediate effect, restricting movement within the surrounding 5km area of the site in Wardell.

Department of Primary Industry teams will support the local businesses and community who will need to lock down movement of landscaping, gardening, and building materials plus machinery until inspected and checked.

Chemically eradicated the infestation

Experienced teams were on site on Saturday and chemically eradicated the infestation and treated a radius of 500 metres from the site.

Following detection of the fire ants the NSW Government instigated its action plan covering – eradication, control, tracing, and engagement of local businesses and community.

Moriarty said the teams were prepared for this discovery of fire ants and immediately implemented a response plan and destroyed the fire ant site.

‘Biosecurity is a shared responsibility and I encourage everyone to continue to check their properties for these pests. With the summer cross-border travel in peak times I ask everyone to be careful of what they’re moving and where.’.....

Community kept informed

Tara Moriarty said the community will be kept informed of progress.

The team will continue activities with sniffer dogs and boots on the ground to determine the extent of any infestation, undertake genetic testing of the fire ants, as well as engaging and supporting the impacted local community and businesses.

With continuing rain bringing risk of across border flooding Northern NSW put on alert for fire ant movement in January 2024

 

Invasive Species Council, excerpts retrieved 17 January 2024:

Red Fire Ants are a serious problem for everybody in Australia. These highly invasive ants first turned up in Australia in 2001 at the northern port of Brisbane. We know of four other outbreaks. One large outbreak in southeast Queensland remains active, but contained.....

Nearly all of Australia is vulnerable to fire ant invasion, including all major cities and towns. More than 99% of the mainland and 80% of Tasmania are suitable to these deadly intruders.

Fire ants might be small, but when their nests are disturbed they rise up in their thousands to swarm and sting their intruder en masse.

Without the regular use of chemical baits, infested parks, gardens and homes become uninhabitable. In the US, 30% to 60% of people in infested areas are stung each year. The stings are painful, hence their name ‘fire’ ants. The alkaloid venom causes pustules and, in some people, allergic reactions.

Fire ants have greater ecological impacts than most ants because they reach extremely high densities. An assessment of their likely impact on 123 animals in southeast Queensland predicted population declines in about 45% of birds, 38% of mammals, 69% of reptiles and 95% of frogs.

These ants damage crops, rob beehives and kill newborn livestock. During dry times they dominate the margins of dams and livestock cannot reach water without being seriously stung.

Australia has too much to lose if we don’t eradicate red fire ants.....

‘The recent heavy rainfall and wild weather in the region could accelerate the spread of fire ants, one of the world’s worst invasive species,’ warned Invasive Species Council Advocacy Manager Reece Pianta.

‘Fire ants are more active before or after rainfall and can form large floating rafts which move with water currents to establish footholds in new areas.

‘We have recently seen evidence of this rafting behaviour on cane farms south of Brisbane.

‘The good news is that it will be easier to spot fire ants and their nests at this time.

‘We are therefore calling on the community to be on the lookout for fire ants, including in their backyards, local parks, beaches or bushland.

‘It’s really easy to do your part. Just take a picture of any suspicious ants and report it.

‘And don’t worry if you’re not sure what type of ant it is, every picture that is sent in will be vital information for the eradication program.....

Report fire ants to:

Queensland: 13 25 23 or www.fireants.org.au

New South Wales: 1800 680 244 or https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/biosecurity/forms/report-exotic-ants

If you think fire ants are on your property, find advice on what to do by visiting: https://www.fireants.org.au/treat/residential-landowner-or-tenant

TheSydney Morning Herald, 17 January 2024:

Venomous fire ants caught in Queensland floodwaters are forming living rafts that quickly traverse long distances, raising the threat of more incursions from the south-east of the state into NSW.

A video released by the Invasive Species Council on Tuesday shows thousands of ants clinging to each other in a tight pack as they float in floodwaters around the Gold Coast.

The invasive species, whose sting can kill people, pets and livestock, and destroy native ecosystems, can also fly – in rare cases up to several kilometres at a time – and travel in transported soil, mulch, animal feed, potted plants and other organic material.

Six nests were detected and destroyed at Murwillumbah in the NSW Northern Rivers region in November. The mounting threat is so urgent the state government has increased checks at the Queensland border, requiring people to declare their goods and register their movements.

“There is a real onus on NSW residents, buyers, importers or anyone that’s bringing in goods from Queensland to make sure they know where it comes from,” NSW Department of Primary Industries chief invasive species officer Scott Charlton said.

“If it’s a fire ant area, it requires the appropriate paperwork to be certified as free from fire ants.”.....

Lismore's unwelcome invasive pest has surfaced once more - the Yellow Crazy Ant

 

IMAGE: Qld Wet Tropics Management Authority

"The yellow crazy ant is listed as one of the top 100 worst invasive species by the IUCN and the Global Invasive Species Database. They are a category three restricted pest under the Biosecurity Act 2014. As such, all citizens have a general biosecurity obligation to minimise the risk of further infestation." [https://www.wettropics.gov.au/yellow-crazy-ants]

"...form huge super-colonies containing thousands of queens and have worker densities reaching up to 20 million ants per hectare." [CSIRO, retrieved 10 November 2021]

Invasive Species Council:

Yellow crazy ants are a highly aggressive tramp ant that made it into Australia through our ports. In a suitable climate such as that of the Queensland Wet Tropics they can form super colonies over vast areas and have huge environmental, social and economic impacts.

Yellow crazy ants do not bite, but spray formic acid to blind and kill their prey.

Once the ants reach super colony levels they can become a severe threat to people, especially children and the elderly, as well as pets. They can damage household electrical appliances and wiring.

One man in Australia has already suffered serious injury from yellow crazy ants. While sleeping at his home in Edmonton, Queensland, the ants swarmed all over Frank Teodo’s face, burning his eyes badly with their acid. And he’s not alone, people’s pets have been sprayed by the ants’ acid, injuring their eyes, mouth and paws. The ants can also kill small and young animals including chickens and native animals.

Yellow crazy ants are a huge threat to agriculture in Australia’s warmer regions. By farming sugar-secreting scale insects and encouraging sooty moulds they can dramatically reduce the productivity of crops such as fruit trees and sugar cane.....

And now this ant has returned to the Lismore local government area in the NSW Northern Rivers region.

EchoNetDaily, 10 November 2021:

Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) has been confirmed in Lismore.
 Photo supplied.

Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) have been threatening the Lismore area since 2018 when they were detected in the Lismore CBD. Another colony has been detected in Lismore recently.

‘A small surviving colony of yellow crazy ants was recently detected in Lismore after an astute resident spotted them in his garden,’ said a spokesperson for Lismore City Council (LCC)…..

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is monitoring and controlling the surviving ants through targeted treatments approved for use in urban and residential areas. ‘Lismore City Council and the DPI are grateful for the continued support of the Lismore community in the management of yellow crazy ants,’ said LCC spokesperson......

You can help stop their spread by checking outdoor areas for ants with:

• slender yellow to brownish bodies about 5mm long

• dark brown abdomens, sometimes striped

• very long legs and antennae

• an erratic walking style

If you spot any suspicious ants:

• collect them in a container

• freeze them for 15 minutes, then photograph them against a white background

• call the Biosecurity Helpline on 1800 680 244 or email species@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Good quality photos and videos of the ants will help with initial identification. For more information about yellow crazy ants visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/yca …..