Fire ant eradication program under scrutiny as woman left fighting infestation alone

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A Queensland woman says she has been left battling a severe fire ant infestation alone, spending hundreds on pesticides. Councils and residents face communication gaps, with limited support under the suppression program. The state government has pledged $24 million and is calling for federal funding to strengthen eradication efforts, as experts warn of wider risks.

Transcript

00:00Jacqueline Hooker had dreams of living in a tiny home on her land lease near Logan.

00:08What I wanted to do is bring a little house here, tiny home, so as being homeless, and bring my dogs out.

00:15But then she discovered a fire ant infestation on the property.

00:18The local council referred her to the National Eradication Program which sent her some poison,

00:23but because her block sits within the suppression zone, not the priority eradication zone,

00:28she felt she was given little support.

00:31At least send someone out so that even if you're concerned about it you've got someone that you feel like is on your side.

00:36We've heard from a lot of people in South East Queensland that there are some considerable communication issues that come up

00:43when they're trying to deal with fire ants, particularly for those people who are living in what's called the fire ant suppression zone.

00:50Fire ants have already spread across more than 800,000 hectares in Queensland.

00:55The state's recently pledged an extra $24 million to tackle the threat in some suppression zones using drones and helicopters.

01:02The $24 million is over two years, and that's why we've called on the federal government to match that funding.

01:08The federal government says it takes the threat of fire ants seriously,

01:11while the Eradication Task Force says it prioritises inspections where fire ants pose a public safety risk.

01:18Fire ants queens can fly up to five kilometres and lay up to 2,000 eggs a day.

01:23If a nest is disturbed, a pheromone is released, and the colony swarms.

01:28Because they're just prolific too, and they're really hard to move on.

01:31Jacqueline Hooker is working to eradicate the pests on her property, but says she's fighting an uphill battle.

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