<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A video of fire ants forming 'life rafts' on Queensland floodwaters has gone viral on social media, prompting concerns that the invasive species will enter NSW in the aftermath of ex-Cyclone Alfred.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Footage shared by Allenview resident Kirsty McKenna to Facebook on Wednesday shows swathes of fire ants forming clumps on a body of water near her property to stay alive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-update-us-president-threatens-retaliatory-european-wine-tariff-after-eu-whiskey-proposal/a4a5f94a-33f3-4ebe-baa0-9a54ea126383" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump's trade war hits bourbon and bubbly hard</span></strong></a></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There's piles of them everywhere, floating through the waterway, heading to the Logan River," said McKenna in the video.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You can see the ants moving the eggs around in the pile, trying to get them in the middle to protect them, clinging on to anything just to stay afloat, until the water recedes and they can make a new nest."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Fire ants are an invasive species endemic to Queensland that can kill people, wildlife, and live stock, and destroy crops and machinery, with invasive species advocates urging state and federal governments to amp up suppression efforts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/columbine-school-shooting-victim-anne-marie-hochhalter-death-ruled-a-homicide-result-from-shooting/cd5a8a9d-2021-4e00-86f7-3209d48deb9e" target="_blank"><strong><span>Columbine death toll rises after survivor dies 26 years later</span></strong></a></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/fire-ants-queensland-floods-rafting-video-footage-nsw/93140d63-651c-455b-b2db-789d3c96098c" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As flood waters recede we are urging the community to look out for and report fire ant nests including in their backyards, local parks, beaches or bushland," Invasive Species Australia Advocacy Manager Reece Pianta says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Recent heavy rainfall in south Queensland will spread high-density fire ant infestations and may sweep the ants into carrier materials like turf, he says, threatening other parts of Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Fire ants form large floating rafts that move with water currents. Disturbingly, new footage shows this rafting behaviour happening right now in flood-affected areas with high fire ant density like Logan, Scenic Rim and northern Gold Coast."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-trade-war-wall-street-continues-to-spiral-stocks-fall/060c0478-9d47-4146-8d39-6902fff878ea" target="_blank"><strong><span>Wall Street spirals after Trump escalates his trade war</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The NSW government has today announced that it will ban fire ant-carrying materials, such as hay, from infested and storm-impacted south-east Queensland areas from entering the state, in an effort to prevent an infestation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred are being felt in our agricultural sector in the north of the state," Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>"</span></strong><span>They need our support to get them back on their feet and don't want a fire ant incursion adding stress and strain to their recovery."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/haidilao-chinese-restaurant-apologies-after-diners-allegedly-urinated-into-hotpot-broth/330ce52d-2873-4e03-ae98-4771a1d31954" target="_blank"><strong><span>Restaurant chain vows compo payouts after diners 'urinated in broth'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, ants simply floating into NSW is "not possible" based on hydrological analysis, NSW Chief Invasive Species Officer Scott Charlton said. Instead, human activities are most likely to cause an infestation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They will either be carried with materials such as soil, mulch, hay and turf, or fly in by natural spread from QLD," Moriarity said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to Pianta, fire ants are expected to exceed $2 billion per year in economic impacts on Australia's economy, and may cause over 650,000 extra medical appointments each year if they get out of control.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Fire ants are one of the world's worst super pests and their unchecked spread will result in economic damage greater than that caused by cane toads, rabbits, feral cats and foxes combined," he says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pianta advises people to not put themselves, clothing, or belongings in direct contact with ants or their nests if they encounter them.</span></div></div>