Hawaii looking to stop one of world’s worst invasive species

HONOLULU (KHON2) — They’re called one of the worst invasive species in the world and they’re invading our islands, which are considered by many the invasive species capital of the world.

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We’re talking about little fire ants. Erin Bishop, the outreach coordinator for the Oahu Invasive Species Committee, joined Wake Up 2Day Thursday to discuss ways to stop them.

“Tropical fire ants have been in Hawaii since the 1880s, but the recently introduced Little Fire Ants are a different species,” Bishop said. “Tropical fire ants are found nesting on the ground in sunny, dry areas like parking lots, lawns, and beach edges. We are familiar with their painful stings on our feet and ankles. LFA, however, nest on the ground, in bushes and trees, anywhere there is shade and moisture. They fall off of shrubs and trees, and can sting you from head to toe as they get caught in your hair and clothes.”

Bishop added that LFA colonies get incredibly dense as they spread out, making stings unavoidable in areas they infest. LFA is listed as one of the world’s worst 100 invasive species and they are also sting pests.

“That’s true, LFA sting animals in their eyes causing permanent blindness,” she said. “While their stings harm human and animal health, they are also predatory to insects and nesting birds, disrupting forest ecosystems. They also have a negative impact on our economy, costing residents and industries to have to spend money on control of the ants in nearly every economic sector from agricultural production, tourism industry, beekeeping, ranching, and residents just enjoying their own property.”

October is “Stop the Ant Month” in Hawaii, focusing on halting the spread of LFA. You can help by testing your yard once annually and any time you purchase or receive new plants.

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“Place a small amount of peanut butter on the end of a coffee stirrer, lay these flat on the ground under shrubs, trees, in potted plants,” Bishop said. “Pick them up after 45 minutes, place sticks in a ziptop bag, freeze them overnight, then mail them to your local ICS for ID. If you have LFA, the ICS will contact you about the next steps to get rid of these ants! The best thing to do is find LFA, BEFORE is finds you. Don’t wait until you are getting stung to find out that you have LFA. By that time, the colonies are very dense and are spreading. It’s much easier and cost-effective to get rid of LFA from 2 or 3 yards than 20 properties.”

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