Fire ants can restrict everyday activities such as picnics, outdoor play, and sporting activities, because backyards, parks, playgrounds, beaches and sports grounds become unusable.
I think that they're the most serious pest that's ever been brought into this country and has the potential to drastically affect our whole way of life.
When I look at what's happened overseas they've almost given up on trying to contain them. We never want it to get like that.
Our Aussie outdoor way of life will be severely impacted.
Our economy, there's the damage to our environment with animal and plant life.
There's also our leisure life, our way of life. Even something as simple as children playing sport on a footy field.
Over a long period of time we haven't found nests that haven't been bait affected. So I'm reasonably confident that we're winning the battle but there's still a bit to go of course.
Even when the detection dogs have given an indication there's a fire ant or a nest there they still can't be seen and it's only after some vigorous excavation on the part of the handler that actually find the ants so we would just walk straight over the top of them.
A dog can distinguish between a different sort of ant is actually incredible. Very impressive.
People in fire ant-infested areas have changed their habits to avoid exposure to the ants.
For example, people do not have picnics on the lawn, go barefoot, sit or lie on the ground, or even stand for too long in one spot.
Mowing and gardening can also result in ant stings.
The impact of fire ants is not restricted to people. Pets and domestic animals can also be stung and injured and may have allergic reactions or be blinded by exposure to the venom.
