The Good, The Bad and the Bug-ly, a Podcast series by the Urban Plant Health Network
Episode 13: Queensland’s twenty-year long effort to extinguish fire ants with Kate Retzki
Red Imported Fire Ants are an invasive species of ants that can destroy crops and injure livestock, kill native flora and fauna, wreck infrastructure, and make community gatherings and weekend sports a thing of the past if left to infest the land. To top it off they are highly aggressive and pack a very nasty sting! Although exotic to Victoria, they have been causing a big problem in south-east Queensland, where they have found a perfect habitat with no predators and great weather. Biosecurity Queensland has been battling fire ants for the past twenty-years, and still believe that they can completely eradicate this pest.
In this episode, Kate Retzki from the National Fire Ant Eradication Program explains more about the biggest eradication effort for an ant species in the world.
For more information visit the Urban Plant Health Network or the National Fire Ant Eradication Program.
If you see something unusual, call the Exotic Pest Plant Health line on 1800 084 881 or take a photo and upload it to the MyPestGuide Reporter.
Read the transcript (WORD – 29KB)
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