What to do if you find fire ants at your home, workplace or local area.
Fire ants are a problem we all must take seriously. They have the potential to greatly impact the Australian way of life we know and love.
This is why it’s important that we manage fire ants like we do any other pest including spiders, cockroaches and termites.
There are 3 key things you need to know if you find fire ants on your property or someone else’s, at a workplace or on public land, including parks and footpaths:
Report fire ants
Report them to us within 24 hours of sighting by calling 13 25 23 or you can complete our simple online form.
The faster you report, the less chance there is of fire ants becoming a problem and spreading.
We will ask you several questions about the suspect ants, the location of the nests and ask you to provide photos and videos to help with identification.
- If no ants are visible, gently poke the nest with a long stick, making sure you do not get too close.
- Keep the camera still and allow ants to walk past the lens. Moving the camera too much makes the image blurry.
- Use the zoom on your camera to get a close-up image while keeping a safe distance.
What to expect after submitting your fire ant report
We take all fire ant reports seriously and we aim to respond within 12 business days. Each report is assessed and categorised using the information and images you provide.
Priority is given to fire ants in areas of greatest public risk, such as schools, childcare centres, parks and sports fields.
After you submit a fire ant report we will send you an email explaining the next steps. This process will vary depending on your location, the number of nests found and our priority risk rating.
Treatment options
There are several treatment methods and products available to effectively treat fire ants.
They include:
- Self-treating fire ant nests using purchased bait
- Hiring a licensed pest manager to treat on your behalf
- Waiting for treatment by the program.
If you are comfortable self-treating fire ants on your property, you still need to report fire ants but please let us know that you are self-treating when you submit your report. You can log into your ‘Fire ant account’ at a later date to update your self-treatment.
If you are unable to treat fire ants yourself, we respond between Monday and Friday, 7am to 4pm. We may need to visit multiple times to destroy all fire ant nests.
You should complete a property information form to alert us to dogs, locked gates and any issues we need to be aware of.
