Know Your Pests in Cairns 

African big-headed ants (Pheidole megacephala) have been in Australia for more than 100 years and are well established throughout many urban areas on the mainland, as well as on many islands. The African big-headed ant tends to be a sap-sucking insect, making it a pest in many agricultural areas throughout the world. The workers can also damage fruit and plant roots directly. African big-headed ants can be a serious pest in buildings, forming large colonies where food scraps are available. They can also cause damage to electrical items such as power points. The ant can nest anywhere, especially in lawns, tree cracks, crevices in paving or concrete, hollow logs and pot plants. Nests are easily noticed as they actively mound soil, especially along concrete edges. The yellow crazy ant has been included among 100 examples of the world’s worst invasive species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It has naturalised in numerous places, especially tropical islands, across the world. On Christmas Island, yellow crazy ants are decimating the island’s iconic red land crabs. A significant population also exists in the Northern Territory

The Asian honey bee is native to South-East Asia. It is smaller and has less hair than the European honey bee, and has pronounced black/brown and yellow stripes.

The Asian honey bee is a possible carrier of bee diseases and pests, and feral infestations could also compete with other bees for resources.

Asian honey bees can be easily confused with common European honey bees (Apis mellifera), and some other bees and insects.

The Asian honey bee is restricted matter under the Biosecurity Act 2014.

Description

• Bee approximately 10mm long.
• Body is smaller and less hairy than that of European honey bee.
• Abdomen has pronounced black/brown and yellow stripes.
• Aggressive, protects nesting sites and stings.

Bed bugs belong to the order Hemiptera ("half-winged"), which CSIRO researchers have highlighted as having unique, obvious piercing/sucking mouthparts.

Cimex lectularius is found all over the world in almost every area that has been settled by humans. In the past, bed bugs were particularly an affliction of the poor and occurred in mass shelters. However, in the early part of the modern resurgence it was the tourist areas that were impacted. Today, bed bugs have conquered quite diverse locations, ranging from hospitals and hotels, to trains, cruise ships and even airplanes. Most commonly, bed bugs travel as stowaways in luggage, although they can be transferred via furnishing and other belongings, as well by spreading to adjoining properties. Since there are no mandatory reporting requirements, exact figures on the occurrence of bed bugs are unknown and, due to the stigma often associated, many infestations are simply not reported.

If feeding regularly, a female bed bug can lay between two and three eggs per day throughout her adult lifetime, which may last several months, allowing one female to produce hundreds of offspring under optimal conditions. 

Some populations have evolved resistance to insecticides. Deltamethrin resistance

Accuracy: Studies indicate dogs can locate live bed bugs and eggs with over 95% accuracy.

Efficiency: A K9 team can inspect a room in minutes, significantly faster than manual inspections.

What they find: They are trained to identify the scent of live bed bugs and viable eggs, ignoring dead bugs or cast skins.

Scent Detection: Dogs can sniff out bugs behind baseboards, under carpets, inside electrical outlets, and within furniture.

Training: Dogs undergo rigorous, hundreds-of-hours training (often based on food rewards) to specifically detect the pheromones of bed bugs.

Common beetles found in stored food (pantry pests) include flour beetles, drugstore beetles, cigarette beetles, sawtoothed grain beetles, and weevils. They primarily infest flour, cereals, grains, pasta, nuts, and dried spices. These pests are often brought in from grocery stores and thrive in dry, dark, food-rich environments

Booklice (order Psocoptera, family Liposcelidae) are minute, generally wingless insects often found in damp indoor environments, with approximately 30 species from the Liposcelidae family. Studies indicate they are primarily nuisance pests that feed on mold, fungi, and starchy materials, thriving in high-humidity conditions (above 60%)

Fire ant queens, the reproductive females in their colony, also are generally the largest. Their primary function is reproduction. Typically, a fire ant queen will seek to establish a new colony following a nuptial flight, wherein it will use its special venom to paralyze offending competitors, in the absence of workers for defense. Fire ant queens may live up to seven years and can produce up to 1,600 eggs per day, and colonies will have as many as 250,000 workers.The estimated potential life span is around 5 years and 10 months to 6 years and 9 months. Young, virgin fire ant queens have wings (as do male fire ants), but they often cut them off after mating. Occasionally, a queen will keep its wings after mating and through its first year.

Cairns’ tropical climate, high rainfall, and extensive mangrove/swamp systems create an ideal breeding environment for a wide variety of mosquitoes, with over 220 species found in Queensland. Mosquitoes are active year-round but surge during the wet season (November to April). They pose significant health risks, acting as vectors for several diseases, including Dengue, Ross River Virus, and Barmah Forest Virus. 

Rodents, belonging to the order Rodentia, constitute the largest and most diverse group of mammals, making up roughly 40% of all mammal species, ranging from tiny mice to large capybaras. They are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors that require constant gnawing to keep them worn down. Rodents have adapted to nearly every environment on Earth, inhabiting terrestrial, arboreal, fossorial (underground), and semi-aquatic habitats

Paralysis ticks, primarily Ixodes holocyclus in Australia, are a dangerous parasite found along the eastern seaboard, capable of injecting a neurotoxin (holocyclotoxin) that causes lethal paralysis in pets, livestock, and sometimes humans. While they are the most dangerous, other tick species exist in Australia and worldwide that can cause paralysis or carry different diseases