A $500 million program by the federal and state governments has so far failed to stem the spread of pests that threaten lives and Australia's outdoor lifestyle.
Almost 23 years after an infestation of imported red fire ants began at Brisbane Port, the ants have spread across the city and into the Gold Coast, with local councils labeling the ants a “threat to one of the world's best lifestyles”. Says. ”.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said in a submission to the Senate Inquiry: “Such an epidemic has an impact on this lifestyle by discouraging and reducing people's willingness to work outdoors and take part in leisure activities. Deaf,” he said.
The ant, which is native to South America, is also found in Murwillumbah and Wardell in northern New South Wales. These are isolated outbreaks, most likely spread through infected topsoil transported from south-east Queensland.
An additional $500 million will be spent to eliminate the outbreak in Queensland by 2032, with nearly $300 million of that coming from the federal government.
Ashley Bacon, program director for the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, said the program has been successful despite the ant infestation.
In Australia, ants migrate about four kilometers a year, in the United States they migrate 48 kilometers a year, and in China they migrate 80 kilometers a year, costing billions of dollars a year to eradicate them.
“We were able to contain [it] in the southeast corner [of Queensland]'' Bacon said.
“This has been a very successful program.”
He said he was confident that the spread of infection would be eradicated.
Michael Goodisman, a professor at Georgia Tech, isn't so sure. He has studied the movements of fire ants in the southern United States, where the ants are endemic.
“Good luck,” Professor Goodisman said.
“We don't know if they'll ultimately be successful because they reproduce quickly. Once they're in, they're very difficult to get rid of.
“However, we are closely monitoring developments in Australia and support efforts to contain fire ants.”
One expert says Australia should have implemented stricter regulations on the removal of soil and mulch from affected areas long ago.
Pam Swepson, a former official with the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, said, “We could have contained the fire ants more and controlled them more because we didn't have any movement restrictions or containment issues.'' .
“The ants just ran away from us.”
difficult to eradicate
Although some nests are treated with poison, the ants are primarily targeted by bait programs that sterilize them. This is an expensive and time consuming process. At Murwillumbah, every centimeter of the ground within a five-kilometre radius of the nest is repeatedly treated by his team over the course of two years by spraying microscopic grains of food.
Mr Bacon said without the efforts of the eradication program, the ants would have spread “as far north as Bowen in Queensland, as far west as Longreach and as far south as Canberra”.
Ants are incredibly difficult to get rid of.
They fly, float, and hitchhike through large amounts of dirt and mulch, and have a voracious appetite for crops and tools.
They are so aggressive that their presence in the United States can cause football games and backyard barbecues to be canceled.
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And they are small. They can crawl all over your legs or down the hem of your pants unnoticed until one ant tries to sting you.
And that's when the threat of these small, ingenious creatures becomes apparent.
Pheromones released by one ant signal the entire group to sting at the same time.
“And they can sting multiple times. They may sting seven or eight times at a time,” says Dr. Ross Wylie, scientific director of the National Fire Ant Eradication Program.
The venom injected by the ant quickly swells into a raised welt that can last for several weeks unless you're extremely lucky.
“About 1 percent of the population will have a severe reaction, which is anaphylactic shock. And some of them will die,” Dr. Wiley said.
Elderly people and children are at risk from ants because they cannot easily brush them away.
“Nursing home residents in the United States are being stabbed to death in their beds,” he said.
“Young children are standing there and screaming. So you really need an adult nearby to help.”
The National Center for Allergy (NACE) says if fire ants become endemic in Australia, the health impact would be “alarming”. In its submission to the Senate inquiry, the center noted that overseas studies show that around a third of people living in affected areas are stung each year.
“This translates into approximately 8.6 million people being stung each year” in Australia, NACE's submission said.
“Of these, 2.1 million people (a quarter of those stung) develop allergic sensitization, and approximately 43,000 to 174,000 people (0.5% to 2% of stung people) have a systemic allergic reaction. This may cause serious injury and may require medical attention.”
Bacon says Ali can be defeated.
“One of the things that people don't know is that there have actually been multiple infestations in Australia, and all but one have been eradicated,” he said.
Six other outbreaks were discovered and eradicated almost immediately.
“Fire ants are thought to have been here for years before they were discovered. They had a bit of a head start. But with 20 years of experience, we have developed methods that we know work. I have,” he said.
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