MT French landholders Brett Nagel and Bruce Wagner are concerned that a Queensland Government ordered fire ant aerial treatment drop could pose a risk to animals, pollute water and waste taxpayer dollars.
Mr Nagel said several factors were of concern, one being the cost to taxpayers.
He said there were no fire ant colonies on his property or that of his neighbours.
The government’s fire ant biosecurity map shows many areas scheduled to be covered by the drop such as Boonah, Mt Alford, Mt French, Coochin and Aratula, are not in fire ant biosecurity zones.
This could change though, with a recent update on the National Fire Ant Eradication Program bringing Aratula, Boonah, Kents Pocket, Lockyer Waters and Fassifern Valley into the biosecurity zone from Friday (September 1).
Mr Wagner owns land next to Mr Nagel and said he had been told properties covered in the drop would need up to six applications.
“I went to Farmcraft in Boonah to find out how much the bait they’re using cost,” he said.
“I worked out they’re going to spend $60,000 on my property alone because I own 1,000 acres.
“If they repeat the process six times, that’s a taxpayer funded $360,000 expense on an area where there are no fire ants. It’s ridiculous.”
Mr Nagel said he was first alerted to the drop when a notice appeared in his mailbox.                                                                                                                                                   “We received a letter saying our property was going to be treated with two types of chemicals dispersed from a helicopter,” he said
“They are going to aerial drop it over the entire area of Boonah so that the ants will take the bait back to the queen which will absorb it and stop the reproduction of the ants.
“The thing is we don’t have any fire ants here and if we did it wouldn’t make any difference because this method and poison doesn’t work.
“Fire ants have progressed from Redland Bay through to other regions, $400 million has been spent and [it seems] no ants have been contained.
“Now they’re in damage control and are going to try to put baits down where there are no ants.
“They are putting baits down just in case the ants come through and take the bait.”
Fire ant bait is a poison infused corn meal pellet that ranges in size from one to three millimetres in size.
The men said they had worked the land they lived on for decades and intergenerational knowledge of how to manage it meant landowners knew how to destroy fire ant nests if they happened across one.
Rather than a broad-spectrum approach, they said they’d prefer being able to tackle issues if and when they arose themselves, rather than be “rained on by poisoned pellets”.
A permit for the pellet drop issued by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries was obtained by the Fassifern Guardian. Under Conditions of Use, it is stated the bait must not be applied where ‘fire ant populations are not evident or no longer evident’.
Products to be used are Engage Ant Bait and Extinguish Professional
Fire Ant Bait, both are unregistered products that contain 5g/kg S-Methoprene as the only active constituent.
Both Mr Nagel and Mr Wagner are concerned by ambiguities within the permit, one being under Critical Use Comments: In aerial baiting adjacent to water bodies, application into the water is permitted up to a distance of 1.5 metres from each bank. Then under Environmental Hazards: Do not apply directly to water or to areas where surface water is
present. The men also said community engagement had been lacking and it was only when landholders challenged the process that any kind of information was forthcoming, and even then it was drip fed.
Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Mark Furner said aircraft conducting aerial baiting treatment for the program were calibrated at the start of each treatment season to determine the drift pattern of the granular bait under differing weather conditions.
“This allows aircraft pilots to conduct aerial baiting with confidence knowing where the bait is falling in all weather conditions and to ensure that bait does not fall or drift onto roofs or into water supplies,” said Mr Furner.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       “The program is currently undertaking aerial imaging surveillance in South East Queensland with some of these flights being over the Mt French area.”
The aerial fire ant program will commence over the Fassifern area between September and June, properties will be treated multiple times over this period.
Mr Nagel is holding a community meeting about the fire ant program on Thursday (September 1) from 6.30pm at Simons Tavern in Boonah.