Fire ants spreading on floodwaters after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred
By Stephen Clarke
By Tobi Loftus
Topic:Pests
10m ago10 minutes agoWed 12 Mar 2025 at 7:47pm
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In short:
South-east Queensland residents are dealing with an unwelcome pest, fire ants, amid the clean-up from ex-Cyclone Alfred.
The invasive species has been a problem for years in south-east Queensland, but floods can help spread colonies which survive by forming "living rafts".
The National Fire Ant Eradication Program call centre has recorded a significant increase in fire ant reporting over the past two days.
Greg "Lockie" Locke thought he had seen it all when it came to floods, but the water that swept through his property this week brought a new threat: fire ants.
Under Mr Locke's house in Ipswich is a pole where he has marked the water level for every flood since he moved in 14 years ago.
Previous flood levels are marked with a coloured stripe of paint but this week's flood is a dark strip of debris filled with a dangerous, invasive species.
A man hosing down his property, debris can be seen on the ground nearby.
The Bundamba home suffered damage after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred dumped massive amounts of rain across parts of Queensland. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
Thousands of fire ants inundated his property this week as they tried to get away from rising floodwaters.
Mr Locke said he had been bitten "at least 30 times" while attempting to clean up his front yard.
A red fire ant bite on a man's arm.
Greg Locke has been battling fire ant stings through the flood clean-up process. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
"Stings like bloody hell, it does. They really get into you,"
he said.
He said this was the first time he had dealt with the invasive pest after a flood, and it had made an already daunting process far worse.
A close-up of a man with blue eyes and light hair.
Mr Locke has suffered multiple fire ant stings. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
"It's not just [a case of] stack your wood up and clean up all your mess because as soon as you clean up the mess, here comes hundreds of bloody fire ants."
Mr Locke said fire ants had become an increasing problem over the past few years and he believed a large paddock that sat behind his property was hosting hundreds of nests.
A pile of sticks and leaves.
When disturbed, flood debris like this came alive with hundreds of fire ants. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
"We've seen horses out there and you can see them bucking and carrying on with their feet, and you can tell that's the fire ants because they've never done that before," he said.
Mr Locke was just wearing a pair of thongs as he washed down his yard.
"You can wear boots but you've got to be careful they don't get inside, so I wear thongs and just hose them off. But you do get bitten."
A few houses up the street, neighbour Dean Owen said during the flood he could see huge "rafts" of ants floating through his backyard.
"It was just this massive river of ants,"
he said.
It is a phenomenon that experts have warned could see the venomous pests spread beyond the current containment zone in south-east Queensland.
Fire ant expert Reece Pianta from the Invasive Species Council said this was not the first time "rafting" had been observed.
"The larger a colony is, the more likely it is to survive a rafting event because it's a way they have evolved to survive flooding," he said.
"It just so happens in the Australian context, this isn't just a survival tactic, it's actually helping them thrive."
Even properties that have been treated and had any nests eradicated could be vulnerable again.
"After the cyclone and the flooding event, they may actually have fire ants on their property again, so we're asking people to check and report it," Mr Pianta said.
Man in high visibility shirt looks into camera.
Bundamba resident Dean Owens says his property has become overwhelmed by fire ants since the flooding event associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
A simple message for authorities
Mr Locke has a simple message for authorities.
"Start killing them fast. Get rid of them. Otherwise, this whole south-east corner, we're going to be screwed. Simple as that."
A spokesperson for the National Fire Ant Eradication Program said the organisation was aware of increased fire ant activity and visible nests following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
"We thank Queenslanders for their vigilance. Our dedicated call centre has recorded a significant increase in fire ant reporting over the last two days," they said.
They said while flooding and severe weather events did not significantly extend the fire ant spread, the insects linked together to raft as a survival strategy during such conditions.
Rafting is a last resort for fire ants because fast-moving water or prolonged submersion — including in saltwater — can break rafting structures, leading to the death of a colony.
Posted10m ago10 minutes agoWed 12 Mar 2025 at 7:47pm
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