Fire ant battle must continue

THE Queensland Farmers’ Federation supports the work that the Department of Employment, Economic Development, and Innovation is doing with its fire ant control program.
Last week I had the opportunity to be briefed on the ongoing fight to control fire ants during a meeting of the Biosecurity Queensland (BQ) Ministerial Advisory Council when we visited the Oxley Control Centre.
The battle against these nasty pests has been ongoing for 10 years, and although we are not there yet, the Fire Ant Control team believes the ants can be eradicated provided there is adequate financial support, particularly from the other States.
In 2001, there were more than 65,000 colonies in South East Queensland, and BQ reports that in 2008/2009 there were 556 colonies.
Unfortunately, some new sites have been found recently, which significantly increase these numbers, which is in part a result of property owners not reporting the ants’ existence.
It is estimated that monitoring of infested areas has managed 99 percent eradication rates, and a separate incursion site at Yarwun near Gladstone is thought to be gone entirely.
Eradication in Southeast Queensland would be good news for farmers on a number of fronts.
Industries such as chicken meat and nurseries face restricted movements for some material that is important to running their farms, which creates challenges for our businesses.
Farmers respect the need for quarantine, but we also look forward to the day when we can freely move material such as chicken litter, nursery plants, and soil.
We also want to see the end of fire ants because they have a painful bite and they swarm when disturbed, which means multiple bites.
This can be very dangerous for both humans and animals and, as has been reported overseas, this can be fatal particularly to young individuals.
The damage and the cost of control, plus the impact on social amenity, runs into billions of dollars in the United States, where the ants first appeared in the 1930s.
The ants are also attracted electromagnetic impulses and thus attack wiring and switchboards, causing short circuits and in some cases fires
Last week we heard that there are some challenges ahead for the control program.
The ants are spreading to areas where they either had not previously been, or areas that had been previously checked.
In places where there is soil disturbance, the ants have a trajectory for spreading, such as roadworks (for example the Mt Lindsay Highway upgrade) and new housing development
The ants seem to be able to colonise more easily on this disturbed soil, and it is also worth remembering that the ants can also bundle together and float in floodwater.
Given the very wet conditions we have seen so far this spring, it is important that farmers and the public continue to support the eradication program and watch for nests, which are identified by being dome-shaped and having no obvious entry hole.
The National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program (NRIFAEP) is funded nationally, which proves just how important this issue is for agriculture in all areas.
While there has been some difficulty in convincing other states to contribute funding to this program, I have no doubt that doing so is in their best interest.
In fact, it is in all of our interests to see fire ants controlled and eradicated.
• If you spot the ants or a mound, call BQ on 132 523.