By land and by air, baiting program combats fire ant incursion in northern New South Wales

Residents and landholders across a 5-kilometre area of South Murwillumbah in New South Wales are being told to expect helicopters and crews of pest controllers as efforts ramp up to eradicate an incursion of fire ants from Queensland. 

The rollout of the ground efforts in the Northern Rivers region has already begun, while helicopter crews will begin next week, with 80 per cent of bait dropping expected to take place from the air. 

National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP) head of operations Graeme Dudgeon said poor weather had so far restricted helicopter access. 

“We can’t bait in wet weather because the bait is affected, so still a little bit more time before we start,” he said.

Nests in South Murwillumbah

The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in November confirmed the detection of three red imported fire ant nests in South Murwillumbah, 13 kilometres south of the border.

A 5-kilometre exclusion zone was imposed, with the invasive species capable of flying long distances and hitching rides on products like bails of hay and manure. 

The detection in NSW triggered the NFAEP response, which is part of a $600 million eradication plan developed by the Australian governments — the world’s largest ever program to eradicate the ants.

Five months on, Mr Dudgeon said initial efforts to limit the spread seemed to have worked. 

“It was a very small incursion, only a few nests were found,” he said. 

“There are no fire ants alive out to 500 metres [from the initial site]. We’ve also done surveillance out to 2 kilometres from that detection and found no fire ants there either.

“We’ve probably got to this really early.”

Deploying the bait 

The bait used to attract the fire ant resembles a standard grain-like mulch but is irresistible to the invasive species. 

Mr Dudgeon says the risks to other species as well as the environment is minimal. 

The treatment contains the same active ingredients commonly found in household and agricultural pest control products, but at a much lower concentration.

“Mammals would have to consume more than their body weight in bait for it to have any effect” Mr Dudgeon said. 

He says the technique for eradication is tried and true, with helicopters covering land inaccessible by ground crews. 

A similar land and air program will soon take place in nearby Wardell, where another small incursion of fire ants was discovered in January. 

Tweed Shire Council Mayor Chris Cherry said giving crews access to private properties within the 5km zone was critical to gaining the upper hand over the fire ants. 

“People don’t particularly like people coming in to do treatment of their private land, but it’s so important we’re all on the same page for this,” she said. 

But the risks to the community are a greater concern, with fire ants capable of administering a deadly bite for some people. 

“There’s actually 1 per cent of the population that can get an anaphylactic shock from the bites,” Cr Cherry said. 

“When they attack you, they swarm, and it can be fatal for people.

“If the ants actually did get here and got a stronghold, it would be catastrophic for our community.”