ENVIRONPEST (07) 3219 2777
www.environpest.com.au
Why do we have Fire Ants in Australia?
The Fire Ant issue is steeped in controversy, with legislation now requiring properties in corporate ownership to be treated if Fire Ants are discovered at property owner cost. Substantial penalties apply for a failure to report infestations. Fortunately, private home owners treatments are provided by Queensland's Department of Primary Industries.
At Environpest, we are are extremely impressed with the Queensland Government's approach to this important issue, with their task force based at Wacol. By the same token, we are disappointed in the Federal Government's lack of quick action in the funding of Fire Ant treatments, particularly when if the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) had been doing their job properly, we wouldn't have Fire Ants in our country.
Recent AQIS management in Queensland and nationally have been atrocious in dealing with other quarantine issues by forcing unworkable requirements on Australian fumigators (with extremely selective enforcement), whilst accepting offshore fumigation certificates without question. Management of known insect incursions has been suspect, with treatment specifications of incursions designed to not effectively treat against all stages of an insects development.
It is quite likely that the Fire Ant incursion has occurred as a result of AQIS's blind acceptance of an offshore fumigation certificate, and we as a nation must now pay the cost. Without an extremely aggressive treatment campaign, we will never gain control of this insect, and how long will it be before we have Australia's first fatality from Fire Ants?
At Environpest, we are of the view that some Australian research needs to be undertaken urgently. With different climatic conditions in Australia, the Fire Ants may build a different nest structure to what they do in the United States. In our cooler months, the Fire Ants feeding appears to be much reduced. Baiting programs are becoming largely inefficient.
Our suggestion is to methyl bromide fumigate some Fire Ant nests of varying size, and then excavate the nests to see just how big they really are! It would appear that here they seem to build nests in close proximity to the surface, where as US research would indicate nests up to 2 metres deep there!
Once the size of the nests is known, then a volume of chemical required can be calculated with perhaps a correlation to the visible surface area of the nest. Complete saturation of the nests will produce an effective result. Applying less than total saturation will allow some Fire Ants to survive!
At the moment, only chlorpyrifos (commonly known as Dursban) has an "off label" permit for Fire Ant control by direct nest application. Environmental groups have expressed some concerns as the safety of chlorpyrifos for some time now, and at Environpest we believe that the synthetic pyrethroid chemical group should be evaluated for their suitability for Fire Ant control. This group of chemicals is much safer, and is most likely able to be used at an extremely low dilution rate, and achieve control.
With the Fire Ants only getting in to Australia through AQIS's lack of discipline, we call on the Federal Government to urgently provide appropriate funding to Queensland's Department of Primary Industries to mount an effective campaign to control Fire Ants before their spread is unmanageable!
If you have any queries, please contact us either by e-mail, or at (07) 3219 2777, or visit the Queensland Department of Primary Industries web site at www.dpi.qld.gov.au
© Mark Porter 2001