Maui's fight against invasive fire ants may be approaching a critical turning point.
After years of slowing the spread of the invasive species, officials have said detections are now rising quickly, threatening farms, tourism, and even the places where schoolchildren gather to learn and play.
According to Civil Beat, earlier this year, a fire ant was verified within Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge on Maui's north shore. It was the first confirmed sighting inside the refuge.
The species had already turned up on adjacent land, but conservation workers told Civil Beat they were worried the find could mean the ants are moving into new spaces.
The island had been averaging roughly two newly found fire ant sites per year after the pest was discovered there in 2009. But in 2024, that number jumped to eight new sites.
To combat the fire ant infestation, the Maui Invasive Species Committee has assembled a highly specialized response team that includes seven staff members, an ant-detection dog named Freddie, and even uses a helicopter and drone to deliver ant control treatments. In some cases, crews use bait with s-methoprene, a growth inhibitor that keeps the ants from reproducing.
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"We're on the brink of winning or losing," outreach and education specialist Lissa Strohecker told Civil Beat.
As of September, Maui had logged 28 fire ant detections. Of those, nine sites were considered eradicated, seven were still under monitoring, and 12 remained in active treatment. About 40% of detections have been on private property, and most infestations were first reported by residents.
Fire ants are among the world's worst invasive species and can build huge supercolonies that overwhelm local ecosystems. Their stings are painful, and animals — including pets, livestock, and birds — can be blinded after repeated stings.
"Once they establish and their population starts growing, they will infest every square inch in the three-dimensional space," said Brooke Mahnken, data manager and former fire ant coordinator for the Maui Invasive Species Committee. "When that happens, it's an incredible loss of biodiversity. Almost everything else is killed or eaten or driven out."
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However, the process is slow and costly. Civil Beat noted that crews may spend months charting an infestation, treating the area every six weeks for a year before beginning repeated surveys. Even after ants are no longer detected, sites are watched for another five years before eradication is officially declared.
Officials have said residents remain a critical line of defense. People should check high-risk materials, such as soil, mulch, landscaping materials, and potted plants, before moving them. They can also survey their properties with ant collection kits and quickly report suspected infestations.
"You want to find them before they find you," Strohecker said.
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