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Fire ants have been found at Musgrave Park, Brisbane City Council has confirmed.
The invasive species was identified on May 4 by residents attending the inner-city park in South Brisbane.
Fire ants inflict extremely painful bites, and can cause extensive environmental damage.
The aggressive pests were first detected in Brisbane in the early 2000s, and huge resources have been devoted since to their eradication.
About five nests were found in the South Brisbane park, and council reported steps had been taken to “treat” them to prevent spread.
“It’s a huge concern, and should be a huge concern for all residents of South Brisbane,” Paul King, secretary of the West End Community Association, said.
“It seems to me the whole plan to eradicate fire ants won’t be meeting its target of eradication by 2032 … if it isn’t, that’s what the 2032 Brisbane Olympics are going to be known for; fire ant bites, because they are devastating.
“It’s just a reminder that we need to really … get on top of this fast, or not at all.”
Residents who spoke to this masthead said they understood hormones were used on the nests, which do not kill the ants on contact but reduce the ability of the colony to repopulate over an extended period of time.
This masthead contacted the National Fire Ant Eradication Program just after 4pm on Friday. It said it did not have time to respond, and would provide further details about the discovery on Monday afternoon.
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