State officials encourage Hawaiʻi residents to collect and submit ants from their properties to help find and control the spread of invasive little fire ants and detect other harmful ant pests that could be new to the islands, including the red imported fire ant.
A multi-agency effort throughout October, which is “Stop the Ant Month” in Hawaiʻi, will support those efforts.
Anyone can request a free ant collection kit online at the Stop the Ant website or make their own using household supplies.
A 1-minute video “How to Collect a Sample” is available at the Stop the Ant website, showing step-by-step procedures for collecting ants from your property, freezing them and then submitting them for identification.
Samples can be mailed or dropped off for identification with Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee at 7370K Kuamoʻo Road in Kapaʻa. Call 808-821-1490 for additional information or any questions.
“Each year, more residents are helping us by collecting and submitting ants so we have a better understanding of where they are,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife Administrator Marigold Zoll.
The campaign is supported by Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council and administered by Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources in cooperation with Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and University of Hawaiʻi programs such as Hawaiʻi Ant Lab, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species and invasive species committees on each island.
Most detections of invasive ants on each island are by community members who collect and send their ants for identification.
The little fire ant is considered among the world’s worst invasive species because the insects form dense colonies and their painful sting can cause itchy red welts that last for weeks. Stings to a pet’s eye cause injuries that could result in blindness.
Unlike the tropical fire ant — a ground-nesting ant present since the 1800s in Hawaiʻi and commonly encountered at beach parks and dry, sunny areas — little fire ants are tiny, orange ants, measuring 1/16 of an inch long.
“[Little fire ants] are a major concern, but we are also asking people to help us detect other invasive ants that aren’t yet established here,” said Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council Coordinator Helmuth Rogg. “[Red imported fire ant], for example, costs as much as $8 billion in economic impacts each year across southern U.S. states. We don’t want that ant here, and by collecting and submitting ants, you expand our ability to detect and eradicate these harmful species.”
