ANTagonistPRO polymer enhanced insecticide spray has been developed by Sundew Professional Solutions to prevent the spread of the highly invasive species, which has the potential to devastate Australian agriculture and cost the economy billions annually if left unchecked and respond to problem areas.  

The product offers a rapid response large area treatment, and biosecurity transport protection treatment, to stop ant infestations and invasions. 

In January the Invasive Species Council warned communities in Queensland and Northern New South Wales to be on the lookout for fire ants, warning recent heavy rainfall and wild weather could accelerate the spread of the deadly pest. 

Sundew chief executive officer, David Priddy, said "prevention and treatment are especially important at this time of the year, as autumn approaches, when the highly invasive and mobile ants become more active while the soil is warm and the days are milder. 

"These aggressive ants are the ultimate hitchhiker - they will move around on vehicles and even floodwaters to infest new areas." 

Priddy's company has spent 10 years developing, testing, and refining ANTagonist PRO, which is Australia's only approved spray treatment that can be applied rapidly over large surface areas by tractors, utes, quad bikes, and other farm vehicles equipped with boom sprays. 

He said such spray applications mean large areas can be treated extremely quickly, at a fraction of the cost of other methods, and claims the product achieves 100 per cent eradication of the red imported fire ants in treated areas. 

Sundew has conducted extensive research and product development on the ground in Australia and invested heavily in local development work, to acquire relevant local data. 

ANTagonistPRO is weatherproof, and will not wash away once dry, according to Priddy, who said it doesn't need to be reapplied as it will last up to six months on treated surfaces. 

In December it became the only red imported fire ant concentrate product approved for applying to shipping containers, agricultural equipment and a range of other vehicles, reducing risk of the ants moving from property to property. 

"This treatment can be applied to large areas to massively reduce time, costs, and physical effort required compared with the slower baiting and spearing methods," Priddy said. 

"We believe this method is a big step forward in countering what may well become a national issue if left unchecked." 

ANTagonistPRO complements Sundew's SAS PRO rapid response direct nest treatment, which is designed to kill individual nests. 

It is available at a range of retainers including Agserv, David Gray and Serve-Ag. Find out more at the Sundew website.