Fire ants: report, don't treat
Fire ants are 2 to 6 mm long, coppery brown with a darker abdomen, and they swarm and sting when the nest is disturbed. In Queensland you must report suspected fire ants to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours, online or by phone; our form doesn't take fire ant jobs. If someone shows signs of anaphylaxis after a sting, use their adrenaline autoinjector and call 000.
Ants on the Gold Coast
Fire ant zones move
Fire ant surveillance, eradication and suppression zones all reach parts of the Gold Coast, and City of Gold Coast treats public land in the suppression zone, not private yards. Because the zones change, don't decide from your suburb name; report what you actually see.
Landscaping and moving soil
Queensland's fire ant biosecurity zones restrict moving materials that can carry fire ants. If you're landscaping and see suspect mounds, stop and report before any soil, turf or mulch leaves the yard.
Crazy ants at Arundel
Yellow crazy ants have been recorded on light industrial properties at Arundel. They're yellow to brownish, about 5 mm long, with very long legs and antennae, and they walk erratically. They're restricted matter in Queensland, so contact Biosecurity Queensland rather than booking a treatment.
Which ant is in the house?
Black house ants are tiny, 2.5 to 3 mm, intensely black, and smell when crushed; they nest along paths and rockeries, and indoors in ceilings, wall cavities and subfloors. Coastal brown ants are shiny light to dark brown with big headed soldiers, and leave lines of small holes and soil mounds in lawns and paving. White footed house ants come in through tiny cracks and trail to food, mostly at night.
Singapore ants are worth naming because they can nest in power sockets and chew wiring, and have caused electrical fires; WA's agriculture department lists them as established in Queensland. Sugar ants, a kind of carpenter ant, forage under lights on summer nights and rarely come indoors.
The ones that sting
Bull ants range from 8 to 40 mm, with long slender jaws, and defend their underground nests hard; healthdirect says their stings sometimes cause anaphylaxis. Green head ants are 5 to 7 mm with a metallic green sheen, nest in soil at the base of shrubs and can sting too. A nest of either beside a path, the trampoline or the pool gate is worth a visit from a pest business.
What the job usually involves
A good technician identifies the ant before treating, because the right method depends on the species. Victoria's Health department says Pharaoh's ants shouldn't be sprayed, since it splits the colony into new ones, and Argentine ants can move back into a treated area from next door within two weeks. Expect the treatment to target the trails, the nest where it can be found and the entry points, with a follow up if the ants return.
Your part, and theirs
You can
- Wipe benches, sweep crumbs and lift pet bowls off the floor overnight.
- Keep sugar, honey and cereal in containers that seal.
- Find where the trail comes in and photograph it with something beside the ants for scale.
- Hold off spraying the trail until the technician has seen it.
Leave to a pest business
- Working out the species, especially tiny ants nesting in walls or power points.
- Bull ant and green head ant nests near paths and play areas.
- Anything that might be fire ants, which is a report to Biosecurity Queensland instead of a job.
Where we'd start with ant control on the Gold Coast
Get a clear photo, check the lawn for loose crumbly mounds, and report anything that looks like fire ants before doing anything else. For a kitchen trail or a stinging nest by the path, tap Spiders or ants.
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.
