Queenslanders pegging back fire ant incursion
Sonya Bissmire, Manager for Biosecurity New Zealand’s (BNZ’s) red imported fire ant response in Whirinaki, visited Brisbane’s Fire Ant Control Centre in early October. Sonya met the team that manages the eradication programme that has run since 2001 and even found a new fire ant nest herself.
This unremarkable patch of earth is the only
outward sign of a red imported fire ant nest.
Tracking and destroying nests like this one has
cost Australian taxpayers A$175 million to date.
Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries has had great success in reducing Brisbane’s fire ant infestation area from 72,000 hectares to 25,000 hectares in five years. Red imported fire ants are thought to have arrived in Brisbane five to eight years before they were detected, allowing populations to grow very large. At the height of the programme, nearly 650 staff worked for the Fire Ant Control Centre. This number has fallen to 140 as the size of the response has reduced. To date the response has cost A$175 million.
A successful component of the Brisbane response strategy is community engagement. Early in the response, a dedicated communications team of 25 staff managed public relations. They focused on teaching the public how to identify fire ant, their biology and how they can help prevent further spread. Community fire ant volunteers conducted local fire ant days where residents searched parks, reserves and schools for fire ant nests. This strategy has seen strong community engagement, with most new nests being reported by members of the public.
The science team maintains a number of fire ant colonies in secure facilities for research and education purposes. Science projects resulting from the response strategy include assessment of non-target impacts of bait application, genetic analysis of colonies to determine origin and training a sniffer dog to detect small colonies. A large glass terrarium full of fire ants is also maintained as a tool for public awareness.
Field teams undertaking surveillance and treatment of fire ant nests continue to be busy in Brisbane. In one day a team visited a range of locations including a paddock in a dairy farm, the middle of a soccer field in a residential area and a family’s backyard. New nests are excavated to determine likely age and then treated with insecticide to destroy them. Infested areas outside urban centres have insecticidal baits applied aerially over a two-year period to ensure all nests are eradicated.
Information gathered on Sonya’s visit will be used in the Whirinaki fire ant response and BNZ will stay in touch with the Brisbane Fire Ant Control Centre to continue to share knowledge and experience.
- Sonya Bissmire, Team Manager, Environmental and Marine Response, Biosecurity New Zealand, phone 04 894 0538, sonya.bissmire@maf.govt.nz
Page last updated: 30 April 2008