Team Pestee were working out the back of Flagstone, on a block being prepared for development, where Levi pushed a fire ant injection rod into the ground.
It kept going. Past half a metre. Past a metre. Somewhere around 1 to 1.2 metres before it stopped.
What you can see on the surface of a fire ant nest is usually the smallest part of the story.
Team Pestee has been treating fire ants on Peet development land at Flagstone, including a job covering roughly 2.7 hectares. We’ve been dealing with deep active nests, waist high grass, thousands of very unhappy ants, and … that one time… when a couple of them climbed the rod to tell Levi exactly how they felt about the whole arrangement.
Nest treated. Levi stung. Fire ants evicted anyway.
It is also a good example of why fire ant management on development land takes more than treating the mounds and nests you can easily see.
Fire ants and the Flagstone growth corridor
Fire ants like what development creates. Warm, open, disturbed ground. Stockpiles. Cleared blocks waiting for the builder to show up. Long grass on land that hasn’t become lawn – yet. Flagstone and the acreage belt around Jimboomba tick all these boxes.
The nests are not always obvious either. Some are the classic dome. Others look like nothing more than a patch of loose or disturbed soil, with no clear entry or exit holes. The ants themselves are small, roughly 2mm to 6mm within the one nest, coppery brown with a darker abdomen.
Logan sits inside Queensland’s fire ant biosecurity zones. Those zones are reviewed monthly as new detections come in, and they now extend about five kilometres beyond known infestations rather than following suburb boundaries. If any part of a property touches a zone, the whole property is treated as being in it.
Which means the boundary you checked last quarter may not be the boundary you are working under this month.
How deep do fire ant nests actually go?
The mound above ground does not tell the whole story.
The National Fire Ant Eradication Program advises that fire ant colonies are typically located within the top one metre of soil. Remember that figure, because a lot of the rules further down this page are built on it.
Now, on the recent Flagstone treatment, we saw Levi’s rod travel roughly 1 to 1.2 metres into the ground on one active nest. Now that’s not how deep the colony ran, but it does show the reach a treatment needs when the Program’s own guidance puts the colony somewhere in that top metre.
That depth is why the method for treating fire ants matters. Bait is designed to be carried down by the ants themselves. Direct nest injection goes down after them. Same target, two different routes, and the best method depends on the site.
What fire ant treatment looks like on a development site
Treating one nest in a suburban lawn is a different job to inspecting several hectares of undeveloped land.
Finding the nests
When the grass is above your waist, you cannot stand beside the ute and scan the paddock. You have to get amongst it, working the ground methodically rather than sweeping your eyes across it, and paying attention to disturbed patches, fence lines and edges.
And sometimes the fire ants find us first. Nothing says “yep, there’s one” quite like a few angry stings getting your attention. Effective? Yes. Recommended? Absolutely not.
Direct Nest Injection
For some active nests, we use Direct Nest Injection, or DNI. That is the long rod you see in our Flagstone videos.
DNI floods the nest and its underground tunnels with an approved liquid insecticide. The Program uses this method where a nest needs to be destroyed quickly, or where it poses a risk to people or animals. Only licensed pest managers are authorised to use fipronil for direct nest injection of fire ants.
The ants are not thrilled about it. Within moments of the injection starting, thousands come pouring across the surface wondering who interrupted their day.
If fire ants could leave a Google review, that would have been a one star day for us.
They can run, they can swarm, and they can throw the world’s tiniest tantrum. By that point the treatment is already exactly where it needs to be.
Afterwards, the Program recommends leaving the ground undisturbed for at least seven days: no mowing, digging, watering or laying turf within a metre of the treated mound. On a development site, that is worth writing into the program of works so excavation does not interfere with the required post-treatment period.
Professional baiting
On this Flagstone development site, DNI suited the identified active nests where targeted treatment was required. On other properties, particularly where fire ants may be spread across a larger area, broadscale baiting can also form part of the treatment plan. The right approach depends on the site, infestation and work program.
Bait works differently. Rather than flooding a single nest, it is collected by foraging ants and carried back into the colony. Licensed pest managers can use both methods.
Working safely
If you have seen the reels, you will have spotted Levi fitting snake guards before heading into one of the Flagstone blocks. There is a practical reason for that. When you are walking waist high grass looking for nests, you never really know who else is sharing the paddock.
Fire ants are enough excitement for one job. We would rather not add snakes to the mix.
What the rules ask before you move soil
This is where fire ants stop being a pest problem and start being a biosecurity one.
Fire ants are a category 1 restricted pest under the Biosecurity Act 2014, and everyone in Queensland carries a general biosecurity obligation to take all reasonable and practical steps to avoid spreading them. For a homeowner that mostly means reporting. For anyone moving soil, it means considerably more.
Soil from inside the biosecurity zones is treated as high risk by default. Fill, clay, scrapings and site waste all count as soil the moment they come out of the ground. If you are developing, excavating, landscaping or carting, these are the points that bite:
- Suspected fire ants must be reported within 24 hours, online at fireants.org.au or on 132 ANT, 13 22 68.
- Movement requirements depend on what material you are moving, which fire ant biosecurity zone the property is in, and where the material is going. Soil excavated inside the zones must be managed using an approved risk-management method. Before moving soil, check the National Fire Ant Eradication Program’s current soil-management guidance and Material Movement Advice Tool for the site.
- Because colonies typically sit in the top metre, soil excavated from below one metre can potentially be moved. Conditions apply: it must move within 21 days of excavation, and the area has to have been checked for fire ants by a licensed pest manager after the top metre is stripped and stockpiled. The Program does not recommend this method where the soil is soft, loamy or sandy.
- Written records of inspections, chemical treatments and disturbance activity must be kept for a minimum of two years.
- Movement controls also cover turf, mulch, hay, manure, potted plants, quarry and mining material, and large removable structures stored on the ground such as site sheds, containers and portable offices.
- Moving a live fire ant off a property is an offence, and penalties can apply.
Note who the regulation names as the person who checks the ground: a licensed pest manager. That is the role we fill on development sites, alongside doing the treatment itself.
The consequences aren’t theoretical either. In New South Wales, a turf delivery from South East Queensland was intercepted at a Byron Shire property after a landscaping contractor reported suspect ants during installation. Penalties for breaching the emergency biosecurity order there run into the millions.
For developers and builders around Flagstone and Jimboomba, the practical version is simple. Deal with fire ants before the excavators start moving soil, not halfway through the job.
Zones and requirements are reviewed monthly, so confirm the current position for your site at fireants.org.au before you move anything. This is general information rather than legal advice.
Found a suspicious mound at your place?
First rule: do not test it with your finger. We have collected enough first hand evidence on that one already.
Fire ants aggressively defend their nest when disturbed, which can result in large numbers of ants swarming out and repeatedly stinging.
- Do not kick it, dig into it or mow over it.
- Do not touch the ants with your hands.
- Skip the petrol and the boiling water. Home remedies tend to move a colony rather than kill the queen, and some are genuinely dangerous.
- Keep children and pets well clear of the area.
- Photograph it only if it is safe to do so.
- Report it within 24 hours, online or on 132 ANT, 13 22 68.
If you are stung by fire ants
If you are stung, wash the area with soap and water, antiseptic if available, apply an icepack too soothe, and use pain relief or an antihistamine for swelling/redness/itch if required. Keep monitoring for a serious allergic reaction and get medical help straight away for a severe reaction, any difficulty breathing, or for a large number of stings. At Team Pestee we have personally found Tea tree oil spray works well to lessen the pustules and pain – but that is NOT medical advice.
How to choose a pest manager for fire ants
The National Fire Ant Eradication Program recommends asking any pest manager to show proof they have completed its fire ant training, and all pest managers are required to report the fire ant treatments they carry out.
That is a fair question to ask anyone. Here is our answer:
- Fire ant treatment accredited technicians (reporting to DAF completed upon treatment)
- QBCC Licence 15214206
- Fully insured, including public liability and professional indemnity
- Termidor and Trelona licensed installers
- 35 years of industry experience
- More than 200 five star Google reviews
- Flagstone Favourite award winners, 2024 and 2025
- Trusted with pre-development fire ant treatment for Peet on Flagstone land
We are based right here in Flagstone. We are the ones walking the long grass looking for the nests, treating them, and yes, occasionally getting stung by them. If you’ve got a fire ant problem that needs expert treatment – contact Team Pestee.
Regulatory information reviewed: 13 August 2026
Frequently asked questions
Colonies are typically found within the top metre of soil. On a recent Team Pestee treatment at Flagstone, the injection rod travelled roughly 1 to 1.2 metres into the ground on one active nest.
Yes. Suspected fire ants must be reported within 24 hours, online at fireants.org.au or on 132 ANT, 13 22 68.
Not freely. Soil from inside the biosecurity zones is high risk. Soil leaving a property should be disturbed at least every 21 days and again within 24 hours of moving it, written records must be kept for a minimum of two years, and the below one metre option requires a licensed pest manager to check the area after the top metre has been stripped and stockpiled. Get advice before the excavator arrives, not after.
Expect heavy ant activity on the surface as the colony responds. Then leave the ground undisturbed for at least seven days, with no mowing, digging, watering or turf laying within a metre of the treated mound.
Because the treatment has reached them. Fire ants defend the colony aggressively when disturbed, so an active nest gets very busy very quickly once injection starts.
Both. Single residential blocks through to multi hectare pre-development sites across Flagstone, Jimboomba, Logan Village, Yarrabilba and Beaudesert.
Need fire ant treatment before the excavators arrive?
Whether it is one suspicious mound near the trampoline or hectares of land ahead of earthworks, the earlier fire ants are dealt with, the smaller the problem stays.
For fire ant treatment across Flagstone, Jimboomba, Logan Village, Yarrabilba and Beaudesert, talk to your local Pestees.
Call Team Pestee on 0422 599 111 to discuss your home, business, acreage property or development site.
Local pests. Local knowledge. Plenty of first hand fire ant experience.
