Argentine Ant Eradication Aerial Baiting Trials to Commence Shortly

Norfolk Island Regional Council staff and contractors are excited to announce the recommencement of aerial baiting under the Argentine Ant Eradication Program very shortly. The AVPMA have issued a permit for the application of a new bait, Kermit 006, and aerial trials on the efficacy of this product will commence in zones 9 at Bucks Point and 11 at Prince Phillip Drive, where ants have been previously treated but are persisting.

This year’s aerial baiting contract has been awarded to Artemis Aerial, and will be conducted by Chief Pilot, Greg Quinn. Greg will start aerial treatments in the coming weeks, so please keep an eye out for media releases, letter drops, signage and radio announcements for when and where he will be operating.

As we commence this season’s aerial baiting, the program has never looked better.  Currently, the area left to treat is less than the total areas from which the ants have been eradicated. However, re-invasion of an area is possible, and as a community we need to continue to be vigilant. Even if an area has been treated it is not necessarily completely free of Argentine Ants and may need several treatments to completely eradicate them.

If you live or work in areas where Argentine Ants are currently or have previously been detected, do not move items such as mulch, firewood, green waste, timber, soil, plants, cuttings, fruit and vegetables, car wrecks and machinery without first checking for ants and contacting the Argentine Ant Eradication Program team.

Please contact Customer Care on 22244 if you think you have found Argentine Ants or if you have any questions about the program. Community support of the program and its methods are critical for eradication to be achieved and Council thanks the community for its ongoing cooperation.

 

Greg Quinn of Artemis Aerial will be conducting the aerial baiting using the new Kermit 006 product.