In recent months, the little fire ant has been found in Oʻahu neighborhoods like Maunawili and Kāneʻohe. Some of the newest cases include areas where infestations have not previously been reported, like a plant nursery in Waiāhole.
The Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee is actively treating or surveying about 36 cases.
"We've had a number of new detections this year where we haven't found the edge of the population. So that's concerning," said Christy Martin with the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species.
The ants deliver a powerful sting and are known to nest in trees as well as the ground. They have been dubbed one of the most destructive pests in the world.
Originally from South America, the ants were first reported in Puna about 24 years ago and are now found in almost every district on the Big Island.
The little fire ant was first detected on Oʻahu in 2013 in a shipment of plants from the Big Island, according to the OISC.
Martin gave The Conversation a bird's eye view of the little fire ant situation on Oʻahu and called for more regulation to help stop the spread.
"If the agencies don't have the rules that they need to be able to quarantine or stop the sale of an infested commodity, for example a plant at a nursery before it is sold, if they don't have that authority, which they do not now, then we're always going to lose," she said.
"But 99% of nurseries are trying their darndest. They are bending over backward to make sure that they provide good products. There are those, though, that are not, and absolutely we definitely need rules to be able to have another tool in the toolbox to be able to stop the spread," she added.
Martin said the treatment methods already exist, but they need more funding to put Oʻahu in a better position to fight the little fire ant.
"We know how to do it. We just need to be able to do it."
October is also Stop the Ant Month in Hawaiʻi. Click here to learn more or request a collection kit.
Report new pest sightings at 643pest.org or call 643-PEST.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Oct. 24, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
