Electric ants have been present in Cairns for at least 5 years according to credible sources, yet were only officially detected 3 weeks ago. Apparently the ants are also in other parts of Cairns according to some of the people who attended last nights meeting on Electric Ants at James Cook University. It is absolutely crazy a pest that is listed in the world’s top 100 pests can silently invade Cairns without the alarm being raised. It is even more amazing given that the ants bite people and inject toxins that result in localised tissue death (creates a pimple full of pus) and cause considerable pain, yet the alarm was not raised. An eradication campaign should have been triggered years ago. The government pays for the eradication, so even if you brought them by accident, let them know. One local woman who has had the ants for two and a half years described how she had been at continuous war with these ants during that time. To the lady, if you are reading this, can you please pen your experience in your own words and post it of the site or e-mail them to us. Her experience was a real eye opener. She said she used to like lying on rugs and watching TV. Now if she lies on the rugs, she is painfully stung by ants that emerge from the pile. To enter the garden, she had to spread out quantities of ant bait 2 days before to suppress the ants enough to garden. I have not met anyone yet who can withstand the stings – even tree loppers who can handle swarms of biting green ants on their eyelids cannot endure these. Electric ants are source of significant discomfort and are generally not life threatening, however some people may be allergic to the toxin and these people who suffer signs of shock should seek medical advice. The lady also reported that she had had pest controllers come in and blast the ants. Surely the alarm bells should have gone off but they didn’t. Other people at the meeting confirmed the general experience of the lady. There has been a major systems failure regarding community knowledge of the threat or in the threat reporting process. If this episode demonstrates anything, it is that the community will be the first to find the ants and that those members of the community who are capable of reliably spotting pest ants should be better supported. Late detection of fire ants in Brisbane is the primary cause of the high cost of eradication program ($175 million) and history nearly repeated itself in Cairns.Queensland Government Fact Sheet (issued 9-6-06 - pdf 170 KB) Queensland Government Electric Ant Flyer (issued to landholder in the Electric Ant area - pdf 1 MB) If you have had experience with these ants – we would love you to post your experience in a forum on this site. If you know of an Electric Ant infestation tell the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (Tel: 132 523). You can make everybody you know aware of the ants and starting looking underneath boxes and leaf litter in your neighbourhood for a masses of small brown ants. Keep watching this site for further details.