Latest news with #KirstyMcKenna
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Residents sound alarm after invasive red fire ants land over 20 people in hospital, kill puppy: 'They're just everywhere'
Invasive red fire ants are wreaking havoc in Australia, sending dozens of people to hospitals and creating worry about how bad things will get. After the remnants of Cyclone Alfred dumped heavy rain on Southeast Queensland in early March, an already big problem worsened, CNN reported, citing the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Sixty people required medical attention because of fire ant stings, and 23 were hospitalized. A puppy was found dead on a fire ant nest, and livestock and native species are at risk as well. The government has earmarked another 24 million Australian dollars for suppression efforts, but residents are concerned about the ants' explosion and potential for harm, which includes pustules and allergic reactions in humans. "They're just everywhere. They're crawling over patios, they're coming into our homes, they get flicked up on the lawn mower, on the tractor," construction worker Scott Rider told ABC Rural. Fire ants reached the country via Brisbane in 2001 and have since spread to Queensland, New South Wales, and the Murray-Darling Basin, according to the Invasive Species Council. CNN noted the critters have established themselves in North America and China and last year for the first time were seen in Europe. Over 95% of Australia is susceptible to the invasive species, and it could cost the economy $2 billion AUD every year. A study also estimated that 38% of mammals, 45% of birds, 69% of reptiles, and 95% of frogs in Southeast Queensland would experience population declines because of the ants. The state Fire Ant Suppression Taskforce has set up a perimeter around the infestation to try to keep the animals from spreading further. It has so far spent $61 million AUD on bait and aerial treatments to reduce the density of colonies by up to 80%. "The only assistance that residents in the [suppression] zone are getting is bait being sent out if they report fire ants," horse agister Kirsty McKenna told ABC Rural. "There is no team assistance and no support." A national plan hopes to eradicate fire ants by 2032, but landholders in the inner suppression zone have to treat the problem themselves. Otherwise, granules are spread via airplanes, helicopters, drones, all-terrain vehicles, and handheld devices, with the size of the treatment area determining the method. Should we be actively working to kill invasive species? Absolutely It depends on the species I don't know No — leave nature alone Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Areas should be undisturbed, including by mowing or watering, for 48 hours afterward, and poultry should be kept away for 24 hours. Hay, turf grass, and other materials also can't be moved without inspection and cannot cross borders. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Expert concerned as large rafts of invasive fire ants seen floating in flood waters after Cyclone Alfred
Fire ants are forming rafts to survive and travel on flood waters caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in south-east Queensland as experts warn extreme weather events could sweep the highly invasive species into other parts of Australia. Footage captured in the Scenic Rim and northern Gold Coast in recent days shows red imported fire ants (Rifas) grouping together and floating on flood waters. Clumps of the ants can then be seen forming nests on previously uninfested land after waters receded. Kirsty McKenna, who filmed the fire ants rafting on her Allenview property, said entire colonies were clinging on to debris and staying buoyant, ready to make nests on dry ground. 'There's piles of them everywhere, floating through the waterway, heading to the Logan River,' she says in the video. Reece Pianta, advocacy manager at the Invasive Species Council, said the colonies were likely to have spread several kilometres from their starting points, with larger rafts more likely to have travelled further. 'The risk of fire ants spreading in flood waters after a disaster is very high and we're very concerned about it,' he said. The rare phenomenon was also filmed in floods early last year. It was the first time Pianta had seen footage of the unusual adaptive behaviour in Australia. 'This year, the rafts appear to be much larger, they're pointing to higher densities of fire ants and bigger colonies,' he said. Heavy rainfall in southern Queensland will spread high-density infestations regionally and could also sweep fire ants into carrier materials such as turf, which could then inadvertently relocate the pests to other parts of the country, he said. 'We're lucky fire ants aren't in the Murray-Darling basin, but this is the kind of event that could see them spread into New South Wales if they were,' he said. McKenna, who lives close to turf and hay farmers whose products travel beyond Queensland, said she was 'worried if we don't reduce the fire ant infestation, it will undermine Australia's eradication efforts'. Rifas are native to South America and are believed to have arrived in Australia via infected materials on ships at the port of Brisbane in 2001 but may have been present in the country since 1992. They are dark reddish-brown with darker abdomens and pose widespread risk to native wildlife, industry and Australia's way of life. Rifas have now spread to more than 700,000 hectares (1.73m acres) in the Brisbane region and outlier detections have in the past year been found in Oakey, the Sunshine Coast and northern NSW. A detection in Wardell, about 70km south of the Queensland-NSW border, was blamed on landscaping supplies brought into NSW for reconstruction efforts after 2022 flood events. Pianta said that an urgent increase in Rifa suppression was needed. 'Fire ants are one of the world's worst super pests and their unchecked spread will result in economic damage greater than that caused by cane toads, rabbits, feral cats and foxes combined,' he said. 'We call on Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese to commit to an urgent fire ant surge and long-term funding,' he said, adding that fire ants were not an election issue for Queenslanders. 'Fire ants will spread to all parts of Australia if eradication fails,' he said.
