October is ‘Stop the Ant Month’: Efforts focused on controlling the spread of invasive little fire ants

October is “Stop the Ant Month” in Hawaiʻi. Residents are encouraged to collect and submit ants from their properties to help find and control the spread of invasive little fire ants (LFA) and to detect other harmful ant pests that could be new to the state, like the red imported fire ant (RIFA). A multiagency effort throughout the month will support residents’ efforts.

The campaign is supported by the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) and administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) in cooperation with the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (HDAB) and University of Hawaiʻi programs including the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species and the Invasive Species Committees on each island.

“Each year, more residents are helping us by collecting and submitting ants so we have a better understanding of where they are,” said DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife Administrator Marigold Zoll.

Dr. Helmuth Rogg, coordinator for the HISC, added, “LFA are a major concern, but we are also asking people to help us detect other invasive ants that aren’t yet established here. RIFA, 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.”

Most detections of invasive ants on each island are by community members who collect and send their ants for identification. LFA is considered among the world’s worst invasive species because they form dense colonies and their painful sting can cause itchy red welts that last for weeks. Stings to pets’ eyes cause injuries that may result in blindness. Unlike the tropical fire ant, a ground-nesting ant that has been present in Hawaiʻi since the 1800s and is commonly encountered at beach parks and dry, sunny areas, LFA are tiny, orange ants, measuring 1/16 of an inch long.

Anyone can request a free ant collection kit by visiting www.StopTheAnt.org, or can make their own using household supplies. A one-minute video, “How to Collect a Sample,” is available at the website and shows the step-by-step procedure for collecting ants from your property, freezing them, then submitting them for identification.

Samples can be mailed or dropped off for identification at any of these locations:

• Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee: 808-266-7994, 743 Ulukahiki Street, Kailua, HI 96734
• Maui Invasive Species Committee (also accepting samples from Lānaʻi), 808-573-6472, PO Box 983, Makawao, HI 96768
• Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee, 808-821-1490, 7370K Kuamoo Road, Kapaʻa, HI 96746
• Moloka‘i Invasive Species Committee, 808-553-4236, P.O. Box 220, Kualapuʻu, HI 96757
• Big Island Invasive Species Committee, 808-933-3346, 23 East Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720
• Hawai‘i Ant Lab in Hilo, 808-315-5656, 875 Komohana Street #213, Hilo, HI 96720
• Hawai‘i Ant Lab in Kona, 808-209-9014, c/o CTAHR Extension Office, 79-7381 Old Māmalahoa Hwy, Kealakekua, HI 96750