Pest of the month || Electric Ants

Electric Ants (Wasmannia auropunctata) Electric ants are a category 1 restricted matter under the Biosecurity Act 2014.
Electric ants area serious threat to our lifestyle, environment and industry.
When working in an electric ant restricted zone, you must comply with movement restrictions on materials (carries) that risk spreading electric ants.

Penalties apply for non-compliance.

Book a free a free yard check:

Report suspected electric ants online or call Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23.

Movement controls for electric ants in Queensland

The Biosecurity Act 2014 and the Biosecurity Regulation 2016 place obligations on people to reduce the risk of spreading electric ants.

If you live in Cairns or the surrounding regions, and your activities involve the movement of material that may harbour electric ant (electric ant carriers) you have a general biosecurity obligation to take all reasonable steps to ensure that you do not spread electric ants.

The electric ant biosecurity zone is in place in Far North Queensland in  Douglas Shire.

The biosecurity zone restricts the movement of live electric ant and electric ant carriers.

Movement controls in place within the biosecurity zone are designed to prevent electric ants from spreading, and are essential to the eradication effort.

More details available HERE

Restricted zone maps:

Restrictions apply on the movement of electric ant carriers.

Visit the interactive Electric Ant Biosecurity Zone Map to check if restrictions apply to your property.

View restriction zones within the Douglas shire:

For More on electric ants

Wild Dogs

Wild dogs include dingoes, wild domestic dogs and hybrids.

Wild dogs are widespread in both the agricultural and natural landscape. They
also frequently exist on the outskirts of towns and even within urban areas.

Read the Wild Dog Action Plan Here

Feral Pigs

Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are a major pest animal in the Wet Tropics area of far north Queensland. Pigs damage the natural environment and pose a major threat to the conservation values of the Wet Tropics World Heritage area. They cause significant losses to agricultural enterprises in the region, and harbour and spread diseases affecting native animals, stock and humans.

Read the Feral Pig Action Plan Here