The recent detection of fire ants at Clunes has led to a temporary suspension of turf movements from heavily infested fire ant areas of Southeast Queensland.
A new Biosecurity Emergency Order (No. 15) was published on Friday 15 November to include the immediate temporary suspension on turf.
‘Fire ants won’t march into NSW they will either be carried with materials such as soil, mulch, hay and turf, or fly in by natural spread from Queensland,’ said NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty.
‘The temporary suspension of turf delivery from fire ant infested areas is a necessary step to mitigate the movement of these highly invasive pests.’
Cost to Australians
The Australia Institute recently warned Queensland households could be hit with an annual bill of $188 million, if fire ants aren’t eradicated.
Queensland residents who handle materials like soil, hay, turf and potted plants, sourced from within the Queensland-defined fire ant biosecurity zones are legally required to follow measures to reduce the risk of spreading fire ants, as outlined in the Biosecurity Regulation 2016 (QLD) as well as any other requirements of the receiving state or territory.
‘Under our existing emergency measures turf needs to be treated both prior to harvest and immediately after laying in NSW,’ said NSW Chief Invasive Species Officer Scott Charlton.
‘Suppliers also need ensure a Record of Movement is declared, relevant certification and documents are retained, turf is labelled and transported in preventative conditions, which for turf means keeping off the ground and covering until it reaches its destination.’
Prevention
The NSW Fire Ant Program say they have recently stepped-up efforts to prevent the spread of fire ants with the launch of proactive early detection surveillance across northern New South Wales.
‘The initiative uses specially trained detection dogs and human surveillance teams to monitor high-risk sites to detect and prevent the establishment of fire ants in NSW,’ they said in a press release.
‘Surveillance will target high-risk locations identified through tracing of fire ant carrier materials, such as turf, soil, and other landscaping materials, along with areas highlighted by habitat suitability modelling.’
Agriculture Minster Moriarty stated that, ‘By ramping up surveillance focusing on high-risk areas and employing advanced tracking and modelling techniques, we’re taking strong preventative measures to stop fire ants from establishing here.
‘We’ve proven that when fire ants are detected in NSW, we will respond quickly to stamp them out as soon as possible, and it’s thanks to the thousands of sets of eyes that report in suspected sightings.
‘Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility, so it’s critical that businesses moving these types of materials comply with the Biosecurity (Fire Ant) Emergency Order,’ she said.
Use the fire ant compliance tool to check the steps you need to take before transporting materials.
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