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Argentine ant sniffer dog averts potential disaster on Matiu / Somes Island (www.rnz.co.nz)

submitted 7 months ago by thevoyagekayaking@lemmy.nz to c/newzealand@lemmy.nz

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I didn't actually know they were building a new wharf on Somes, it's great that the island is getting more infrastructure. And great they caught the ants, obviously.

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[–] pluckytree@lemmy.nz 3 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Are the ants from somewhere else in New Zealand or imported?

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I'm not sure specifically about these ones but looks like they are pretty widespread in NZ (though not found everywhere):

We know of Argentine ants in many parts of Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch.

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/animal-pests/argentine-ants/

[–] qupada42@lemmy.nz 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

About 20 years ago there was an infestation of them in the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga city council was coming around deploying ant bait around people's houses for free.

Pale green stuff dispensed from a caulking gun, seemed to do a good job.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 2 points 7 months ago

Based on my link above, I can imagine the council wanting a coordinated approach. It mentions all the colonies work together, and if you put down bait but fail to kill them all, it separates the colonies and then it's a lot harder to get them all.