Fire Ants: Suppression Starts at Your Fence Line
If you’re a landholder in South East Queensland, managing Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) isn’t just about movement controls—it’s about managing the nests on your property to protect your business, staff, animals, and community. A strong fire ant management plan uses an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach.
This guide walks you through key considerations for effective fire ant management.
1. Know Your Land
Different land uses, geology, hydrology, and vegetation cover can influence fire ant habitat suitability. Fire ants thrive in:
• Areas with an open aspect for thermoregulation
• Locations with access to ground water
• Zones that are not regularly impacted by disturbance
Flood plains often provide excellent habitat due to their open vegetation, accessible ground water, friable soils, and position outside active waterway channels. These areas—frequently used for grazing—offer ideal conditions for fire ants to establish.
In contrast, densely vegetated areas are often unsuitable due to insufficient sunlight for thermoregulation.
Map out the location of different land uses on your property—vegetated areas, waterbodies, waterways, buffers, cultivated zones, and grazing areas—to help identify treatment priorities.
2. Understand Your Operations
Your land use directly affects fire ant risk and habitat suitability. Whether you’re:
• Growing vegetables
• Grazing livestock
• Managing horse studs
• Developing land
• Overseeing estates or recreational grounds
…your operations can either suppress or support fire ants. Some things, but not all, to consider:
• Stock: Confined animals are at higher risk. Horses can become agitated, stressed, and injured if regularly stung.
• Irrigation patterns: Regular irrigation can flood nesting areas, making them less suitable. Nests often relocate to the edges—making them easier to detect and treat.
• Cultivation: Disturbance pushes ants to less disturbed edges. Cultivation may destroy nests, but disturbed areas attract new queens.
• Harvest timing: If your product (e.g. turf, mulch, soil) is a known RIFA carrier and is scheduled to be moved off-site, plan treatment beforehand.
3. Assessment and Monitoring
Assess the Threat
Start with a property survey. Where are the nests? How many? Are they clustered or widespread? Map the distribution to guide treatment and track changes over time.
Fire ants prefer areas with open soil, disturbed land, irrigation zones, and warm, sunny conditions. Pay special attention to these habitats during your survey.
Survey and monitoring methods may include:
• Rapid assessment surveys using 20–40 flags to estimate nests per hectare
• Full property surveys
• Transect-based assessments
These techniques help quantify infestation levels, guide treatment decisions, and monitor effectiveness.
Legal requirement: Report all new fire ant sightings to the department within 24 hours.
Monitor for Success
Monitoring isn’t a one-off. Regular checks help you:
• Confirm treatment success
• Detect new infestations early
• Refine your strategy based on what’s working (and what’s not)
Use visual inspections, structured surveys, GPS mapping, and staff reporting to stay ahead of the curve.
4. Choose Your Poison: Match Treatment to Risk Level
Selecting the right treatment method is critical to effective fire ant suppression. Many chemicals are harmful and their use should be minimised where possible. Match your approach to the level of risk and site conditions:
• Very High Risk
Use Direct Nest Injection (DNI) for areas with direct exposure to vulnerable people (e.g. schools, childcare centres, retirement villages).
• High Risk
Use fast-acting toxicant baits for zones with regular human or animal activity (e.g. domestic areas, staff zones, parks, animal pens).
Follow with an IGR baiting program to prevent regrowth.
• Moderate Risk
Use IGR baiting programs for pasture, grazing lands, and cropping zones.
Granular toxicant baits may be used to rapidly kill nests that pose a risk to animals and people.
• Low Risk
Use monitoring and early detection in areas where fire ants haven’t been detected but suitable habitat exists.
Regular inspections help catch incursions early and prevent establishment.
Consider seasonal timing, planned operations, and product movement windows to maximise bait uptake and suppression success.
5. Equipment for Baiting Treatment
Choosing the right bait application method is essential for effective fire ant suppression. Match your equipment to your property’s size, terrain, and access conditions.
Application types:
• Handheld spreaders
Ideal for confined areas and spot treatments. Easy to maneuver and suitable for small blocks.
• UTV-mounted or tractor-mounted spreaders
UTVs offer a nimble, cost-effective option for most landholders, especially in varied terrain.
Best for medium-sized areas with flat terrain and good vehicle access.
• Drone-based applicators
Suitable for large, less accessible areas.
Enable broad application in hard-to-reach zones and minimise ground disturbance.
Often the best value per hectare treatment option available to landholders.
Other equipment considerations:
• Ensure your PPE—gloves, long sleeves, eye protection—is fit for purpose and in good condition
• Set up clean-down facilities for machinery and tools to prevent spread
• Store bait products in secure, dry locations away from moisture and sunlight
• Maintain and calibrate equipment to ensure accurate and safe application
6. Keep Records That Matter
Good record keeping supports compliance and operational learning. Track:
• Dates and locations of treatments
• Type of bait or chemical used
• Nest sightings and movement patterns
• Staff training and inspection activities
• Movement of regulated materials off-site
These records help demonstrate your GBO compliance and make future treatments more effective.
7. Need Help?
📞 Reach out to Australian Fire Ant Management for tailored advice and support.
⚠️ Disclaimer
This document is intended to provide general advice and guidance only. It does not aim to satisfy all of your legal obligations under the Biosecurity Act. Every person's situation is unique—please consult the National Fire Ant Eradication Program website and ensure you understand your General Biosecurity Obligations (GBO).