It's our goal to eliminate fire ants using a staged, rolling strategy. For treatment to work, it is vital we treat every property in our planned treatment area.
As part of our 10-Year Eradication Plan, this treatment is delivered to one section of South East Queensland at a time—starting at the west of the infestation in the Lockyer Valley, and moving east towards the coast.
There is no cost to you when we treat your property.
Strategies are also in place to stop fire ants from spreading further, including containing them around the fringe of the infestation and suppressing ant populations in other areas.
Fire ant containment map (PDF, 4.8MB)
The eradication treatment delivered by our team involves spreading fire ant bait over all areas within our targeted treatment area.
Each property needs to be treated multiple times each year—and in some cases for several years. This is to ensure we have destroyed every last fire ant nest. Just one missed nest will jeopardise our eradication efforts.
Treatment methods
This treatment is delivered during the warmer months, typically September to June.
We use 3 main methods for spreading bait. These are:
- on foot, with a hand-held spreader on residential blocks or properties with hazards
- using a helicopter on large acreage properties
- from a utility-terrain vehicle (UTV) or quad bike.
Once eradication treatment is complete, the area is monitored. If any remaining fire ant nests are found, they will be quickly treated. This will continue until the area is free of fire ants.
To keep you safe and reduce the chance of additional strain on Queensland's health services from fire ant stings, we are continuing treatment with COVID-19-safe practices in places.
Stages of fire ant eradication
