WA households could be forced to spend more than $120 million a year if fire ants get a foothold in the State

New research has revealed WA households could be forced to spend more than $120 million a year if an invasive insect is able to get a foothold in the State.

Research from the Australia Institute has revealed the costs fire ants could bring to WA households if they are not fully eradicated from Australian soil.

The research claims total fire ant-related expenditure for households could exceed $120.6 million every year, an additional annual bill of $150 for every household.

The research claims the potential costs consist of $29.9 million in medical costs, $24 million in vet costs and $66.6 million in pest control for WA residents.

According to the Australia Institute close to a million people in Western Australia could be stung yearly, which based on other countries, could result in almost 69,000 people needing to seeking medical attention.

WA however, is in a unique position to handle fire ants, with the State already successfully eradicating an outbreak at Fremantle Port in November 2019.

A Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development spokesperson said the State had a surveillance system in place to detect any fire ant incursions quickly, supporting effective containment and eradication.

“This includes targeted surveillance at high-risk border entry points such as ports and associated transport networks of incoming freight and strict movement controls for host materials from red invasive fire ant infested areas,” the spokesperson said.

“Red imported fire ants were also detected at a premises in Hope Valley in July 2025 in a shipping container imported from south-east Queensland — the colony was successfully eliminated and the premises is subject to follow-up surveillance as a precaution.”

Western Australia is also a partner in the National Fire Ant Eradication Program and has committed $32 million over four years to the eradication response in Queensland.

However, this funding commitment is set to end in 2027, leading to calls from the Invasive Species Council for WA to not get complacent as the infestation in Queensland could quickly become an Australia-wide issue.

Invasive Species Council advocacy director Reece Pianta said with the rising risk of bird flu and the shot hole borer in WA, fire ants were the last thing WA needed to concern itself with.

“We know we’ve got huge problems with pigs and deer and feral horses and weeds, you know, fire ants are worse than many of those things combined,” he said.

“The difference with fire ants is it’s something that we can deal with and can eradicate.

“We’re in a state now where we have to try and contain short hole borer, where it’s gone beyond eradication — it is still possible to eradicate fire ants, and that’s why it’s so important that all the Governments of Australia continue to support that effort.”

Mr Pianta said fire ant costs could exceed $2 billion for the whole of WA across agriculture, tourism and nature restoration industries, with the impacts felt across the country.

“We know from Texas, beef cattle, for example — there’s a 40 per cent productivity loss from fire ants over there, and that’s what we would face,” he said.

“We will in the end probably be the only continent that doesn’t have fire ants and that’s great, and we want to keep it that way.”

The DPIRD spokesperson said if the community see any unusual ants, they should not touch ants or disturb the nest.

Instead they should report their observation to DPIRD via the MyPestGuide App or to the department’s Pest and Disease Information Service on (08) 9368 3080 or email padis@dpird.wa.gov.au.