The Queensland Government is accelerating efforts to stop the march of fire ants with new year-round treatment.
For the first time, fire ant eradication treatment will be conducted in winter, which is expected to enhance eradication efforts and reduce the pest’s infestation footprint.
The additional winter treatments follow scientific trials conducted by the National Fire Ant Eradication Program that have proven fire ants continue to forage and consume treatment granules even as Queensland experiences cooler temperatures.
Eradication treatment has begun in western areas of the biosecurity zone, including parts of the Lockyer Valley through Somerset and the Scenic Rim, before teams then move east towards the southern Gold Coast, where warmer temperatures persist longer.
Minister for Primary Industries, Tony Perrett said the Government was committed to strengthening the fight against the invasive species, which threatens our health, environment, economy, and lifestyle, including primary production.
“The research-based treatment all year round could change the game for the National Fire Ant Eradication Program and puts Queensland in a very exciting position to have the best chance to eradicate fire ants from Australia by 2032,” said Minister Perrett.
“We are listening to the most cutting-edge science, and we are implementing key recommendations from multiple scathing reports that Labor ignored during their decade in power.
