A growing trend in Logan has seen residents use boiling water to destroy fire ant nests, but the official eradication program has advised against it.
Instead, the government wants locals sticking to the prescribed treatment.
Many residents have recently reported pouring boiling water on fire ant nests that are quickly overtaking the city’s backyards, parks, and footpaths.
While this method can be effective at destroying individual nests, experts say it is only temporary.
“It requires large amounts of boiling water per nest and does not guarantee the elimination of fire ant queens,” a spokesperson from The National Fire Ant Eradication said.
Queen ants are essential to the pest’s survival.
If the queens are not eliminated, fire ant colonies will quickly rebuild by replacing any dead or dying ants.
“The only proven eradication treatment is the one we are delivering,” the spokesperson said.
“Boiling water may offer temporary effectiveness in managing individual fire ant nests but is not a safe or reliable eradication method.”
The spokesperson acknowledged that boiling water was discussed as a method to combat individual nests in the United States.
However, she said the country had abandoned any official eradication attempts.
Visit fireants.org.au or call 132 ANT (13 22 68) to access fire ant eradication treatment.
