DoC wages war on ant invader

The Department of Conservation is biting back at huge infestations of argentine ants in the Urquharts Bay, Bream Head, area east of Whangarei.

The ant problem there is so serious that residents have complained they are being bitten in their beds, said Whangarei area conservation officer Peter Davis.

Argentine ants, recognisable by their honey brown colour, are not poisonous but are aggressive and can bite. They were first discovered in Auckland in 1990.

Highly active when looking for food, they are known to form super-colonies, displacing other ants to compete with birds and lizards for food.

Mr Davis said the ants had also been known to swarm over birds' nests and kill and devour chicks.

This is a concern for DoC because island nature reserves and the Bream Head Reserve kiwi sanctuary are near Urquharts Bay.

DoC kiwi programme manager Clea Gardiner said young kiwi chicks hatching in their nests were highly vulnerable to the ants.

The voracious pest could also be carried unwittingly to new locations by people transporting ant nests in items such as pot plants or firewood.

DoC's eradication programme will run during the next two weeks.

Staff and volunteers will lay protein and sugar-based baits laced with fiprinol, an insecticide.