Local residents should remain on the lookout for fire ants following the discovery of two nests at Meringandan West.

This discovery comes just weeks after 80 fire ant nests were found at the Oakey Army Aviation Centre.

The National Fire Ant Eradication Program confirmed two suspect nests were located by the Program’s odour detection dog team on 14 May.

The team was in the area conducting surveillance as part of compliance tracing activities.

The tracing is not linked to the recent detection in Oakey.

Both nests have been treated using liquid insecticide.

Field teams were on site after the discovery last week conducting eradication activities to ensure all nests are located and if necessary, treated.

At Oakey, from this past Monday a fire ant biosecurity zone has been established and broadscale eradication treatment has begun within a 5 kilometre radius of the Oakey Army Aviation Centre.

Fire ant eradication treatment has also started in Oakey, which involves aerial treatment using fixed-wing aircraft, followed by targeted treatment on smaller and residential properties.

All targeted properties must be treated multiple times to ensure eradication success.

Fire ants are copper brown in colour and have a darker abdomen.

They measure 2 to 6 millimeters in length with a variety of sizes found in each nest.

Fire ant nests appear as mounds or patches of loose soil and have no obvious entry or exit holes.

Fire ants are attracted to disturbed soil and can be transported through human-assisted movement of organic materials.

This is the greatest risk to their spread and can have devastating impacts on the environment, economy, human and animal health, and the outdoor way of life.

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 23 May 2024.