When Amanda King and her mother Leanne Williams were bitten by fire ants, they were not prepared to become frontline recruits in the federal government’s battle with the pest.
The pair were last year bitten multiple times at their Kleinton home, north of Toowoomba, resulting in painful pustules on their legs and arms.
They reported the suspicious nests to the state and federally funded National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP) in April last year and it took 67 days for a program officer to inspect and subsequently eradicate the pests.
What happened during that time, Ms King said, were repeated requests for them to collect photographic and physical evidence before inspectors would visit their home.
“He basically said, ‘No. You need to send photos first,’ and then he sent an email with specifications of what to send,” Ms King said.
“I rang back and said, ‘I can’t get photos.'”
Ms King, a veterinary nurse who often works 6am to 6pm, said it was difficult to take accurate photos in the dark and that the program was putting too much of the surveillance burden on the public.
“What happens if it’s some 70-year-old lady who thinks she has [them]?” she said.
“She’s probably not going to have an iPhone that’s going to take a proper photo. I think it’s unfair for them to do that, so that needs to change.”
Her mother agrees.
“Why are they putting the onus on the public?” Ms Williams said.
Ms King said the program eventually offered to mail a specimen collecting kit to her, and she posted it back on May 5.
Documents obtained under Queensland’s Right to Information Act show the sample kit was received by authorities on May 13, staff identified the sample as positive for fire ants on June 8, and they visited the following day.
The ABC understands suspected cases accompanied by photographic evidence are treated with priority, and testing is carried out within two days.
In routine cases without photographic evidence, the response time is two to three weeks.
Priority is given to areas that pose a serious risk to human health and safety, such as schools, childcare centres, parks, and sporting fields.
The ants, which were first detected in 2001 in Brisbane, have spread to south east Queensland and northern New South Wales, with concerns they could enter the Murray-Darling river system after being found at the Oakey Army Aviation Centre in April.
Biosecurity zone to be set up
A biosecurity zone will be set up within a 5-kilometre radius of the Oakey base on Monday, placing further legal requirements on those in the zone.
Yesterday, 4 kilometres from Amanda and Leanne’s home, fire ants were also officially detected in Meringandan West for the first time.
NFAEP said public help was vital to the program.
“Reports from the public are vital to our national eradication effort and we thank Ms King for her vigilance in notifying us about this sighting,” the spokesperson said.
But with 36,945 suspected fire ant reports made since May 2023, and 13,786 of them confirmed as positive, testing is a mammoth task for the governments and departments involved.
Staffing concerns
Invasive Species Council advocacy manager Reece Pianta said the case was indicative of a wider problem within the program.
“What it really shows to me is how under resourcing of the fire ant program, over many years, has really impaired our ability to be able to deal with one of the world’s worst invasive pests,” he said.
Mr Pianta said it was good that people were keeping an eye out and sending in reported sightings, but it was important there were enough resources so authorities could process sightings in a timely fashion.
He said the biggest challenge with the volume of reports was that many would prove negative.
“Not everyone is going to know how to take a photo and report a fire nest or take a sample and send it in, so sometimes the field officer will be required to attend the site and do a visual inspection, take a sample,” Mr Pianta said.
“We’d like to see a lot more field officers.
“The program is ramping up. It is expanding but a lot more is going to be required over the next decade if we’re going to get on top of this infestation.”
Stories from farms and country towns across Australia, delivered each Friday.