Fire ants have been detected in another Sunshine Coast suburb, the second new discovery of the pests in the region in a week.
Residents and businesses in Forest Glen are being asked to be on the lookout for fire ants following a detection in the area.
A community member discovered and reported the suspect fire ant nest on a vacant block on Wednesday.
Yesterday, National Fire Ant Eradication Program officers visited the site and destroyed the nests using direct nest injection.
Scientists confirmed late yesterday they were fire ant nests.
It comes after a local property developer found and reported a suspect fire ant nest at nearby Palmview last week.
The recent discoveries follow the reporting of nests near Yandina in January and at Nirimba and Banya and Currimundi last year.
Eradication activities, including intensive treatment and surveillance, will initially commence up to 500m from the Forest Glen detection site to protect the area and ensure no undetected fire ants remain.
Fire ant detections outside the program’s containment boundary do happen from time to time, and the NFAEP has procedures in place to manage them.
Compliance checks and tracing of materials that can carry fire ants brought into the infested site and surrounding areas can help determine the source of the ants.
Fire ants can travel in materials such as soil, hay, mulch, manure, quarry materials, turf, and potted plants. Human-assisted movement is the biggest risk to their spread.
Visit fireants.org.au or call 132 ANT (13 22 68) for more information.
