After the discovery of fire ant infested turf at Clunes, near Byron Bay on Wednesday November 13, the State Government has placed a temporary suspension of turf movements from heavily infested fire ant areas of southeast Queensland.
The move is designed to mitigate the risk of fire ant movements into NSW.
Read about the infestation in Wardell in January.
The NSW Fire Ant Program has recently stepped-up efforts to prevent the spread of fire ants with the launch of proactive early detection surveillance across northern NSW.
DPI is using trained detection dogs and human surveillance teams to monitor high-risk sites to detect and prevent the establishment of fire ants in NSW.
The surveillance will target high-risk locations identified through tracing of fire ant carrier materials, such as turf, soil, and other landscaping materials.
While fire ants continue to pose a serious threat across Australia, the NSW Fire Ant Program represents a significant step forward in the Government’s fight to keep the state fire-ant-free.
Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said, “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.”
More environment stories here.
This information was provided by the NSW Government.
