Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) – which are now established in Australia – are one of the worst invasive species on Earth.
They are noted for frenetic activity when disturbed (hence their common name, Yellow Crazy Ant) and are extremely aggressive, usually out-competing other insects to dominate and destroy food resources including valuable horticultural and agricultural crops, including sugar cane.
They can build super colonies that devastate local flora and fauna and have a permanent impact on agricultural and horticultural production if left uncontrolled, says national pest eradication authority, David Priddy.
“Their current distribution extends throughout the tropics, including Indian and Pacific Ocean islands, Papua New Guinea, and Mauritius. In Australia, yellow crazy ants have been found in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory, after first being detected in the Wet Tropics in 2001.”
“Yellow crazy ants do not bite, but instead spray formic acid to blind and kill their prey. And although they’re tiny, just 3 to 5 millimetres long, they can swarm in great numbers, killing much larger animals like lizards, frogs, small mammals, turtle hatchlings, and bird chicks, sometimes reshaping entire ecosystems.
“The Invasive Species Council notes that impacts of yellow crazy ants fluctuate depending on local environmental conditions. And northern Queensland’s Wet Tropics just happen to be their ideal habitat. If not stopped in their tracks, they could threaten Queensland, for example, with economic and ecological disaster, putting the state’s sugar cane and tourism industries at risk and threatening devastating impacts on local communities,” says David.
David Priddy has spent the last several years developing professionally and self-applied treatments effective on both Yellow Crazy Ants and their even more invasive brethren, the Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) which have already spread south from Queensland into Northern NSW.
RIFA are also highly invasive and capable of infesting all of Mainland Australia and most of Tasmania if left unchecked, says David Priddy. David is head of his own family-owned pest research company, Sundew Solutions, which produces Australian solutions formulated to Australian conditions based on his experience in treating invasive pests over more than 20 years’ experience with international and national pest control technologies.
Sundew’s solutions, effective on both the yellow and red ants, include ANTagonistPRO large scale treatment insecticide for the exterior control of ants around domestic dwellings, industrial sites, agricultural and horticultural spaces, and public facilities where RIFA stings can cause serious infections or even death in victims allergic to insect venom.
Sundew’s SAS PRO Professional Granule Ant Killer, meanwhile, is a complementary fast-acting granular fipronil insecticide for the non-repellent control of Argentine stem weevils and ants in turf and external surrounds of buildings and structures. A third control option proved equally effective on red and yellow ants in professional and self-applied applications is AttractAnt PRO, which is formulated to provide control of entire colonies in residential homes, commercial and industrial settings, as well as sensitive areas like schools or nursing homes. AttractAnt PRO kills not only the workers, but also the queen and the colony, says David Priddy.
“Whichever pest control formulation is used to control these twin pests – including our own products specifically formulated for long-lasting performance in local conditions – it is most important is that the problem is tackled at a local level by the people and groups most affected.
“These include farmers, horticulturalists, local authorities, land developers, builders, industrialists and operators of agricultural machinery and transport companies, which can spread the threat even further afield,” he said.
“Current reactive attempts to control these pests have not succeeded in limiting their spread south in Australia, because they address only known reported outbreaks. A truly proactive approach involves everyone affected and in areas potentially affective taking control into their own hands to proactively eliminate at a local level all known and potential threats, such as ants being carried further afield on machinery and vehicles.”
The approaching spring season can be a particularly difficult time with the warming soil and milder days making ants more active. David is calling on government entities, regulators, and pest industry professionals to come together quickly and implement a suitable solution that works, rather than piecemeal proposals that for 20 years have failed to prevent expanding ant infestations.
“The ants involved – both RIFA and Yellow Crazy Ants – may be tiny in individual size, but experience with uncontrolled spread of fire ants in US, for example, have shown the massive costs of allowing invasive species to get out of hand. The problems are still spreading in the US, where they are estimated to have caused more than $A10 billion annually in damage repair, medical care, and control costs.”
About us:
About Sundew Professional Solutions
Sundew Professional Solutions is a family owned 100% Australian business employing local families and manufacturing facilities in Australia and New Zealand to produce all of our products. We utilise the services of local Australian research companies, registration professionals, and chemical laboratories. With more than 40 Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) approvals during this time, Sundew presently exceeds its peers in developing innovative state-of-the-art formulations and technology for the professional pest management and other associated segments.
Sundew's red imported fire ant (RIFA) solutions, which are also effective on Yellow Crazy ants, are the result of years of extensive research and development undertaken in southeast Queensland since 2011. Sundew offers innovative solutions to quickly eliminate large fire ant infestations as well as protect vehicles from inadvertently moving fire ants between locations.
Contact details:
Jack Mallen-Cooper
PR Consultant
Whyte Public Relations
(02) 9901 4306
whytepr@whytepr.com.au
