Lily, 11, was playing in a park when fire ants swarmed her body

Colleen Lavender has raised her kids to value their skin and every opportunity they have, whether they’re on their bikes or going for a run.

That all changed when her 11-year-old daughter Lily was playing in a park a fortnight ago in the Scenic Rim town of Jimboomba, south of Brisbane, where they live.

Lily accidentally disturbed a fire ant nest, triggering an enraged swarm of ants to attack her body.

She was left with more than 50 red welts capped with angry white pustules along her arms.

“She had moderately a ramification of swelling up her arm, she felt love she turn out to be as soon as on fire and couldn’t sit down restful, she turn out to be as soon as so teary,” Ms Lavender said.

With fire ant nests in their backyard and along local roads and parks, the Lavenders have changed their outdoor habits to avoid the invasive species.

She’s fearful the continued spread of the ants could change the outdoor lifestyle Australians know and love.

“We’re careful what we do now, we don’t run around barefoot anymore like Aussie kids used to do,” Ms Lavender said.

What are fire ants and how did they get here?

Fire ants are an invasive species in the starting up from South The United States. They possess an aggressive temperament and a rotten sting.

They’re 2 to 6 millimetres in length and are coppery-brown in color.

The ants were first detected in Australia in Brisbane in 2001 and it is likely the pest arrived in transport containers from the US.

Their nests are unique because they have no obvious entry or exit holes and look like dome-shaped mounds or patches of disturbed soil.

Australia is the ideal environment for fire ants to inhabit – they have no natural predators here and 95 per cent of the country’s climate is suitable for them.

They easily spread above and below ground, can travel up to five kilometres, and may even form rafts to float across water.

Why are they such a threat?

The ants eat animals and insects that nest on the ground, including lizards, frogs, and mammals.

The National Fire Ant Eradication Program said the pest would have “a devastating impact on the entire ecosystem with the potential to eliminate species”.

In the US, fire ants have had a significant impact on crops such as corn and potatoes.

There is concern that the same problems could emerge in Australia, with more than 50 agricultural and horticultural crops at risk of being affected by infestations.

Discontinue they chunk?

National allergy bodies told a Senate Inquiry into Red Imported Fire Ants that 174,000 people could develop severe allergic reaction symptoms to the insect’s sting if it became endemic in Australia.

One submission informed the inquiry that anaphylaxis from fire ant stings was three times more frequent than bee stings.

The invasive species had been accountable for hundreds of deaths within the US since the Nineties.

If the fire ants are left to spread across the country, financial modelling from the Australia Institute has indicated that it would cost the government more than $22 billion by the 2040s.

How far have they spread?

Fire ants have been found just south of Ballina in New South Waleswest to Oakey, just north of Toowoomba in Queensland and north to Morayfield north of Brisbane.

In Queensland, Moreton Bay, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Southern Downs, Scenic Rim and the Gold Coast are the focus of extreme eradication work.

There are two fire ant biosecurity zones that cover parts of south-east Queensland.

If you are residing in either of these zones there are interstate and intrastate restrictions on how you can transport natural products, as a result of the risk of further infestation.

What is being done about them?

The state and federal governments are spending a further half a billion dollars on the National Fire Ant Eradication Plan to combat the ants’ spread.

One key component of the plan is surveillance – which involves using remote sensing technology mounted on helicopters to scan properties from the air for fire ant nests.

The photos of landscapes are then analysed by artificial intelligence to determine whether there are nests there. Subject officers and odour detection canines continue to inspect targeted properties at regular intervals.

A baiting program is underway in northern NSWand treatment is available to use in Queensland.

Is the remedy safe?

There are two forms of bait available for treating fire ants in Australia – insect growth regulator and fast-acting insecticide.

The baits are made up of corn grit soaked in soybean oil and are designed so that ants collect it and take it back to the colony for other ants to eat. It will then kill worker ants, larvae and the queen ant, before breaking down quickly.

It is safe for families and pets.

What should I do if I find fire ants on my property?

That you would possibly per chance well file an infestation to the National Fire Ant Eradication Program by calling 13 25 23 and or not it is quick that you just treat your property as quickly as conceivable by shopping fire ant bait from a native or online retailer.

If you live in an infestation zone, it is important that you treat your property even if nests are not visible.