Hearth ant program provides extra suburbs to south-east Queensland management zones – ABC Information

The nationwide hearth ant eradication program has prolonged its biosecurity zones round south-east Queensland, including practically 60 new suburbs throughout Brisbane, Moreton Bay, and the Scenic Rim.

The transfer comes as efforts return to chopping down hearth ant numbers in Brisbane, Ipswich and Logan, whereas nonetheless working to include the invasive pest’s unfold west via the Lockyer Valley.

Below the 10-year, $411 million program, two biosecurity zones had been established to regulate the motion of soil, hay, and different ant-carrying supplies, after incursions from the Port of Brisbane a decade in the past.

However hearth ants have proved difficult to stamp out, with this system final yr asserting it wanted extra money to fulfill its 2027 eradication deadline.

With out eradication, the devastating agricultural pest is predicted to price Australia an estimated $1.65 billion yearly.

Controlling motion

Program supervisor Graeme Dudgeon mentioned including extra suburbs to the zones meant controls would now govern how companies and residents may transfer supplies comparable to soil, hay, and crops.

“This explicit replace, whereas it seems like a variety of suburbs … it is not a terrific enhance within the space of the zones,” he mentioned.

“They’re on the sting, so you’d anticipate that to occur — there’s been just a little little bit of unfold on the sting, or we’re nervous about unfold on the sting.”

The western zone, masking a lot of the Scenic Rim and Lockyer Valley, has been the primary focus of surveillance and remedy efforts so far.

The japanese zone covers Brisbane’s southside, Ipswich, Beaudesert, Logan and the northern Gold Coast, and has had no remedy – though residents are inspired to report or deal with hearth ant nests in their very own again yards.

Mr Dudgeon mentioned whereas focus had initially been on surveying and killing ants on the western boundary within the Lockyer Valley, the east now wanted consideration.

“Within the space we’re not eradicating, that japanese space, it was thought initially that responding to public stories of fireside ants and instantly killing the hearth ants when discovered and reported can be sufficient to maintain these hearth ants right down to an affordable degree,” he mentioned.

1000’s of fireside ant stories have been made throughout Ipswich and Logan over the previous 12 months, with new housing developments a preferred dwelling for the pest.

Compared, the western zone — the place remedy has been underneath approach for a number of years – has had fewer than 200 hearth ant stories prior to now yr.

Mr Dudgeon mentioned mentioned one other $37 million had been put into this system over the following 5 years, prioritising the japanese zone.

North and south

Moreton Bay suburbs together with Murrumba Downs and Griffin had been on Thursday added to the japanese zone for the primary time, together with a number of northside Brisbane suburbs comparable to Fortitude Valley and Northgate.

“Within the [Moreton Bay] space, there’s fairly a couple of suburbs added there — there was on-and-off hearth ant exercise there for plenty of years,” Mr Dudgeon mentioned.

To the south-west, the western zone now the foothills of Important Vary close to Aratula, the place hearth ants have moved deeper into the Scenic Rim.

“That is an space the place hearth ants have been pushing fairly onerous,” Mr Dudgeon mentioned.

“We’re unsure why there somewhat than elsewhere, but it surely appears the circumstances for this breed there are fairly beneficial and that is the place they appear to be transferring.”

Murray Darling fears

Hearth ants within the Scenic Rim are edging nearer to the Murray Darling Basin, a priority that has lengthy been held by agricultural teams and the federal authorities.

However the Nice Dividing Vary nonetheless blocks their path.

“They may get there by human-assisted motion if somebody takes infested hay throughout the vary, as an example,” Mr Dudgeon mentioned.

“So it is actually, actually necessary we ensure that does not occur.

Australia’s agriculture ministers will meet later this yr to overview this system.