Cities need a process to help homeowners deal with the aggressive European fire ant, according to an entomologist who met with civic employees from across Metro Vancouver recently.
The species, which swarms and stings people and animals when disturbed, has invaded the Burnaby and Region Allotment Gardens, a 5.9hectare swath of farmland in South Burnaby.
Robert Higgins, an ant expert from Thompson Rivers University, met with the region's environmental managers to discuss the ant problem.
"We identified the major issues and information gaps that needed to be addressed. We do not have a finalized plan, but we made great progress in mapping out how we would tackle these challenges this summer," Higgins said. "The meeting was intended to provide the municipalities with some information about the biology, distribution and management of this ant. Municipalities are challenged to know how to identify the ant and what to recommend. Basically, we established a plan to begin to confront that challenge."
According to Higgins, the ants have also been found in North Vancouver, Victoria, Vancouver, Chilliwack and possibly Richmond.
"In each instance the problem is localized to one or a few city blocks," Higgins said.
Higgins also knows of a couple of cases where people were hospitalized due to stings from the fire ant, which behaves more aggressively in B.C. than in Europe.
Higgins said B.C.'s inter-ministry invasive species working group would support a project to map the ant infestations and organize an ant identification workshop. The group would also bring fire ants into the lab to test different ant baits to figure out which are the most effective. Higgins, who has been chronicling the ants' presence in B.C., will be leading these efforts this summer.
Melinda Yong, an environmental technician with the City of Burnaby who attended the meeting, said the city does not have a plan yet to deal with the ants.
"We just discussed priorities," she said.
However, local gardeners should be careful when moving plants to help stop the spread of the ants, Yong said. Soaking roots in water for an hour to an hour-and-a-half while moving plants can help kill fire ants.
People who suspect they have a fire ant infestation should call the City of Burnaby's engineering department at 6042947460, Yong said. City staff can ask questions and send people out to investigate suspected cases of fire ant infestations, she said.
