Residents can manage fire ants on their own properties
Many Queensland residents are managing fire ants on their own properties. You too can join the fight against the pest by purchasing and treating with fire ant bait or hiring a pest manager to treat for you.
Fire ants can have devastating consequences on our environment, economy, human health and outdoor way of life.
They can:
✖ attack our kids, pets and livestock
✖ destroy crops and damage the economy
✖ threaten our outdoor way of life by making backyards and parks unusable.
Under the Biosecurity Act 2014, fire ants are a category 1 restricted matter, making the pest a responsibility for all Queenslanders.
Fighting fire ants requires a whole-of-community approach. We are tasked with eradicating fire ants using a staged, rolling treatment strategy starting in the west of the infestation. You are encouraged to proactively treat your land to stop fire ants moving in or respond to any fire ant nests found by treating them yourself or hiring a pest manager to treat them for you.
You should do this to reduce the impacts fire ants have on your lifestyle and until our planned eradication treatment reaches your neighbourhood.
Why is it important to treat fire ants myself?
By treating fire ants on your property or worksite you can:
✔ act quickly to respond to active fire ant nests
✔ choose a treatment method that works best for you and your property
✔ implement a proactive baiting plan to prevent fire ants from becoming established
✔ routinely treat at a time that suits you.
Don’t spread fire ants
Do you produce, store or move soil, hay, mulch, manure, quarry materials, turf or potted plant?
Fire ant biosecurity zones and restrictions apply. Visit fireants.org.au for more information.
What do I need to do?
1. Check your property for fire ant nests
Look for ant nests that appear as mounds or flat patches of loose soil with no obvious entry or exit holes. Fire ants are coppery brown with a darker abdomen. They are small and range in size from 2–6mm.
2. Report suspect ants
You are legally required to report any fire ants to us within 24 hours of sighting them. You can do this online at fireants.org.au or call 13 25 23.
3. Treat fire ants
✔ Purchase and use fire ant bait
Residents can purchase fire ant bait from local and online retailers and treat the nests themselves. There are a number of baits available on the market, including baits specific for proactive and responsive treatment. All baits are safe for humans and pets when used according to the conditions on the relevant product labels. A list of baits is available on our website.
If you opt to treat your own property with fire ant bait, please let us know. You can do this online or call us on 13 25 23.
✔ Hire a pest manager to treat for you
We have trained many pest managers to treat fire ants safely and effectively using bait and by direct nest injection with liquid insecticide. You can ask to view their fire ant training certificate.
If you hire a pest manager, they are required to report their treatment to the program. They can also supply you with a job docket for your own records.
If you cannot treat the fire ants yourself, we will still treat any nests found. Treatment is prioritised based on public risk and safety.
Training
We offer free online training for anyone wanting to learn more about fire ants and how to treat them correctly. Visit fireants.org.au to register.