Brisbane City Council has partnered with the CSIRO to step up its efforts to eradicate invasive Yellow Crazy Ant nests which have been found in a number of suburbs across the city.
Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner said work was underway to develop a strategy to eradicate the ants in a trial of approved treatments to manage and prevent their spread.
The trial, located at The Gap, aims to deliver a three-year treatment approach to eradicate Yellow Crazy Ants and the threats they pose.
“Yellow Crazy Ants are among the world’s 100 worst invasive species and their presence threatens plants and animals, especially invertebrate fauna,” Lord Mayor Schrinner said.
“The ants do not bite but spray formic acid to blind and kill their prey.”
The ants are 4mm long, with a slender, golden brown or tan-orange body, long spindly legs and long antennae, and they usually forage in large numbers.
Nests are often found in either dry or moist conditions, in utility boxes, cracks in concrete, gardens, rockeries, wood piles or at the base of trees.
Lord Mayor Schrinner said the ants were first discovered in north Queensland in 2001 and have quickly become a threat to the state’s flora and fauna.
“Yellow Crazy Ants form inter-connected colonies or ‘super colonies’ which can have more than 100 queens that can disperse and create new nests,” he said.
“The geographical extent of infestations can increase when a nest is moved or accidently transported, and this could be when soil or green waste is taken somewhere else or a structure like a fence or shed is pulled down and taken away.
“We’ll be consulting with residents who may be impacted by the treatment program and ask residents to let us know if they find any Yellow Crazy Ant nests on or around their property.”
