Photo: National Fire Ant Eradication Program
NSW has banned hay from south-east Queensland for a month over fears of fire ant infestation due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The NSW Government says that a group biosecurity emergency permit that allows for hay shipments from infested zones in south-east Qld have been temporarily suspended.
Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty says the wind and rain from the cyclone prompted fire ants to become mobile such as by rafting.
(Rafting is when the ants form an interlocked, floating mass that can hold together for weeks)
“The temporary suspension of the hay permit is a necessary step to mitigate the movement of these highly invasive pests,” she says.
Moriarty says northern NSW agriculture is recovering from the storm and don’t need a fire ant incursion adding to their stress.
“We have increased surveillance focusing on high-risk areas and are employing advanced tracking and modelling techniques …,” she says.
“Fire ants won’t march into NSW; they will either be carried with materials such as soil, mulch, hay and turf, or fly in by natural spread from QLD which is why we’re ramping up surveillance in these high-risk areas.”
NSW Chief Invasive Species Officer Scott Charlton says fire ants will ‘raft; in water as a survival mechanism and move following rain and flooding events.
“The recent videos and images on social media of fire ants forming rafts are no doubt concerning,” he says.
“However, we know from hydrological analysis that ants floating into NSW is not possible.
“What we can do is mitigate the increased risks of human-assisted movement of fire ants from the infested areas of Queensland and suspend the hay permit.”
EARLY DETECTION
Government officials are also increasing surveillance and monitoring movements across the border; they say businesses in infested areas may not be aware of fire ants moving into their stored material like hay, soil, landscaping materials and pots.
An NSW Government statement says multiple fire ant colonies have been filmed moving in flood waters in the Logan River catchment of SE Qld.
The catchment flows to the northeast into Moreton Bay but the risk of mobile fire ant colonies being taken south of the border is greater since they may be in new locations.
Last November, NSW suspended turf shipments from infested areas of Queensland over fire ant fears.
An NSW Fire Ant Team has stepped-up early detection efforts by using trained detection dogs and human surveillance teams.
Surveillance will target high-risk locations identified through tracing of fire ant carrier materials, along with areas highlighted by habitat suitability modelling.
The NSW Government is spending $945m on biosecurity with $95m dedicated to combatting fire ants.
Since December 2023, over 390 record-of-movement declarations were made for more than 6500 tonnes of hay brought into NSW.
