Fire ants, and stings
Small coppery brown ants of mixed sizes on a mound of loose, crumbly soil in Queensland or NSW could be fire ants: don't disturb or treat the nest. In Queensland the law says report them to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours, online or by phone; in NSW, report them to the NSW Biosecurity Helpline. After any ant sting, if someone shows signs of anaphylaxis, use their adrenaline autoinjector straight away, then call 000.
Which ant is it?
Ants have elbowed antennae and a narrow waist, which sets them apart from other insects. Victoria's Health department adds that ants aren't related to termites and can't damage sound timber.
The ones that come inside are mostly small. Black house ants are intensely black and smell when crushed. Argentine ants are slender and brown, don't smell, and march in slow trails three or more ants wide. Coastal brown ants have big-headed soldiers and leave lines of little holes and soil mounds in lawns and paving. White-footed house ants are shiny black and busiest at night.
Bigger ants are usually a garden matter. Sugar ants, a kind of carpenter ant, forage under lights on summer nights and rarely enter houses. Bull ants and green-head ants sting, and nest in the ground.
Why some ants come back so fast
Argentine ants are the stubborn ones. DPIRD in Western Australia calls them the most difficult common pest ant to control, and Victoria's Health department says they can recolonise a treated area from neighbouring land within two weeks.
Pharaoh's ants are the other trap. Victoria's Health department says spraying them splits the colony into new colonies and tends to make things worse, which is why a pest business wants to know the species before it picks a treatment.
Singapore ants are a wiring problem as much as a pantry one: they can nest in power sockets, chew cables and have caused electrical fires. According to DPIRD, they're now established in five states and territories: Queensland, NSW, Victoria, WA and the NT.
What an ant treatment usually involves
The technician identifies the species, then follows the trails back to the nest, whether it's in a wall cavity, the ceiling, under the slab or paving, or out in the garden.
The treatment depends on the ant. It's often a bait the workers carry back to the colony, sometimes a treatment around the outside of the house, and a return visit if the trails come back.
Several nests, nests inside walls or under paving, ants pouring in from next door and species like Argentine ants all make it a bigger job.
Exotic ants are reported, not booked
In Queensland, fire ants are category 1 restricted matter, and anyone aware of them must report within 24 hours. Electric ants, found in Cairns and surrounding areas, must also be reported within 24 hours, to Biosecurity Queensland. Yellow crazy ants are restricted matter too.
In NSW, fire ants are prohibited. Report them to the NSW Biosecurity Helpline or online, and don't destroy or treat the nest or try to catch the ants. In WA, report exotic ants with the MyPestGuide Reporter app.
Our form doesn't take fire ant jobs. The fire ant page shows what they look like.
What helps, and what to leave
You can
- Wipe up sweet spills and crumbs, and keep sugar, honey and pet food sealed.
- Note where the trail comes in and, if you can, leave it unsprayed until the technician has followed it home.
- Cut back plants touching the walls, which give ants a bridge inside.
- Seal small cracks along skirting boards and around pipes.
Leave to a pest business
- Identifying the species, since the treatment depends on it.
- Finding and treating nests in wall cavities, ceilings and subfloors.
- Ants that keep coming back from neighbouring land.
- Bull ant nests beside paths and play areas.
Before they start, ask
- Which ant is this, and where's the nest?
- Will you use baits, a spray or both, and what are the products called, in full?
- How soon should we notice fewer ants, and when should we call you back?
- Is a follow-up included if the trail returns?
Our take on ant control
A trail of tiny ants to the sugar bowl isn't an emergency. Clean up, note where they come in, and tap Spiders or ants if they're back within a few days. Anything that looks like a fire ant mound in Queensland or NSW goes to the report line first, not to us.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
