In this section:
Fire Ant Surveillance and Awareness
The South Australian Fire Ant Surveillance and Awareness Program is the South Australian Component of the national Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program.
The program aims to monitor high-risk sites for RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) incursions and to raise awareness of RIFA so that any future incursions can be reported quickly.
While there are no known infestations of Fire Ants in South Australia, over the next 12 months staff from PIRSA and AQIS will be conducting surveys of high-risk areas to determine if this ant has been introduced.
It is thought the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) (Solenopsis invicta) was introduced into Australia through the Brisbane area some years ago.
Fire Ants were detected in the South Western suburbs of Brisbane, and while it is not known how the ants arrived in Queensland it is thought that they may have been there for as long as five years. RIFA is now well established in the Brisbane area but it is believed there is a good possibility of eradicating this pest.
The surveillance program is targeting sites that receive imports into South Australia from Queensland, which may act as a vehicle of transportation of this pest.
In summary, the program aims to:
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identify sites that are at risk of importing RIFA
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monitor the above sites and education of staff
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spread awareness of the potential impact of RIFA.
The problem with Fire Ants
Potentially, Fire Ants could become the greatest ecological problem to enter Australia since the rabbit.
- The US experience has shown that Fire Ants are a serious environmental, agricultural, social and medical pest.
- Fire Ants inflict a painful sting.
- In severe cases their stings can cause anaphylactic shock, an allergic reaction humans can have to stings from bees and wasps.
- If prevention of their incursion is not successful, they will seriously impact on our lifestyle.
- Impact on agriculture can range from
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- damage to seeds, seedlings and fruit
- issues concerning worker safety
- deaths of newborn and the young livestock
- blindness in animals.
There is also the potential for impacts to the nursery and landscape industries due to the movement of high-risk materials such as pot plants, soil, mulch and other materials.
Identifying Fire Ants and Fire Ant Activity
Contact information
For Fire Ant issues and identifcation contact:
State Quarantine (SA only): 1300 666 010
For more detailed information go to Queesland Government Department of Primary Industries
Project
Information in this paper courtesy of Queensland Government, Department of Primary Industries.
