Red imported fire ants in Australia

Fire ants are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as one of the world's most invasive species.

[5] Red imported fire ants are a serious problem because they are invasive species can cause major environmental, social and economic damage.

[2] Fire ants are very aggressive and feed voraciously on ground dwelling animals, such as insects, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Fire ants also invade the food and water supplies of animals and deter them from feeding and drinking, leading to starvation and dehydration.

[2] In the USA, fire ant mounds have destroyed equipment such as irrigation systems and damaged machinery during harvesting operations.

[11] Control costs are also significant, and it is estimated that up to June 2016 federal, state and territory governments have already spent more than $329 million in total attempting to eradicate the ants.

[12] The Australian Government responded rapidly to the detection of fire ants in Brisbane in 2001, with the injection of significant initial funds.

However, by 2016, incursions showed that the fire ant was continuing to breach Australia’s borders, despite a reportedly strong quarantine focus.

By the time, they had spread across Brisbane and southwards into the Gold Coast, as well as having been found in northern New South Wales at Murwillumbah and Wardellit.

Commonwealth and state governments have committed around a billion dollars in an effort to eradicate the pest from Queensland by 2032.