The Courier-Mail
WET weather has caused a large outbreak of stinging fire ants in southeast Queensland, with colonies found in the Logan, Ipswich, Springfield, Larapinta, Underwood and Rochedale areas.
Fire ants were poisoned at the Park Ridge State Primary School yesterday after they were found by an alert groundsman.
About 65,000 colonies were found when the outbreak was first detected in 2001 and last year this was down to about 500 but wiping out the world's worst pest invader is proving difficult.
Biosecurity Queensland fire ant control centre director Neil O'Brien said yesterday no children were stung at the school, and the nests had been poisoned and cordoned off.
It follows a colony being found a month ago outside the Park Ridge State High School and a Brisbane Division 1 soccer game being stopped on Saturday after mounds were found on a field at Daisy Hill.
Eight colonies had been found in the suburb, with each having multiple nests or mounds.
Mr O'Brien said sniffer dogs were being used in the Park Ridge area.
"It shows that this infestation is still bubbling along," he said.
"We have a lot more to do to ensure they don't become established here."
BQ has been struggling for four years to eliminate colonies in the hot spot south of Brisbane.
The US has given up trying to eradicate the ant but is spending $US6.4 billion trying to control its impact.
Ants could spread up to 600,000sq km in 30 years, arriving in the backyards of Sydney and Melbourne and major agricultural centres, dwarfing Queensland's cane toad invasion. They bite people, pets, domestic stock and wildlife.
Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin said fire ants were so serious they threatened Australia's way of life.
"If they take hold in Queensland it is only a matter of time until they are in all states," he said.
Mr O'Brien said the outbreaks confirmed the belief that prolonged drought had slowed their spread.
"We've had the wettest summer since eradication started in 2001," Mr O'Neill said.
"We're finding the ground incredibly soft and it's creating the perfect habitat for them to establish and (expand their range).
"We put on 64 additional staff in February but we need everyone to keep an eye out.
Ten years on, we feel a problem with complacency is developing."
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