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Trespass-Biosecurity Act-Fire Ant Chemical Programs
Our area in Tallebudgera/Currumbin is being door knocked and threatened by contractors demanding access to surveil and treat fire ant infestations.
The chemicals being used are very toxic to aquatic life, birds, children, pregnant women etc however they’ve chosen the wet season to do this job.
We’ve had a number of unprecedented rain events in the last few weeks and naturally we’re concerned that our pristine environment out here is being poisoned via runoff.
That’s the backstory.
The Biosecurity Act is pretty hefty on pushing anyone and everything out of the way…but we assume that the Act is still subject to our consent.
In other words, would a Notice of Further and Betters/Conditional Acceptance be the way forward here?
Trespass signs on our driveways, application required to access property etc
One of our friends asked a few questions and was smartly informed that the contractor would arrange a police escort and that fines would be forthcoming if she refused them access.
We’ve stalled them a few days to get something in writing and I’ve told her no more talking on the phone or face-to-face.
Just wondering if I’m on track here and if you know of any land mines about to blow me up.
Thanks in advance. PB
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10 Replies
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You are right any legislation needs consent from any man or woman they are trying to impose it on. Yes if I was in your situation I would immediately start a three step Non Consent with affidavit. If you need to know how to do this, use the free non consent docs as templates. They are conditional acceptances, which keep you in honour and give them three chances to answer questions and agree to take liability for any harm caused. If they stay silent or give frivolous, vexatious or threatening answers then they will have assented to your position and you will attain an agreement with them after the third notice. Then you will have the ability to do a final affidavit to seal the deal.. I believe we need to secure our properties as soon as we decide to hold them to account. So cameras trespass signs and locked gates have been a part of my life for two years now. If you want some signage I can share it with you here. Just let me know what you need.
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If you start a private proceeding then they cannot proceed until that has been finalised, in other words you are in negotiation once you start the process and no third party interloper can intercede in a private negotiation until an agreement has been reached. But study study study. Because the pirates and parasites will try to make you believe they can do anything they like and you have to be prepared to deal with their trickery.
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Thankyou Morag, yes we would be keen to see your signage…if it’s different from the ones already offered here in the old freebies section.
Will proceed with our first Notice and work our way towards a (default) private agreement.
An aside…Even if the gate isn’t locked so long as there are 3 No Trespass Notice warnings along the driveway they’re well and truly in the wrong if they proceed all the way to the front door, aren’t they?
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Is there an update to this discussion? We are in Northern NSW and they have announced plans to start surveying properties for fire ants here. Soon will follow ‘treatments’. What progress/success stories and remedies can be shared?
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Here’s some suggestions from others who have had to deal with this problem… “Mix boric acid, about 5% with molasses they will gobble it up and share with the colony and the queen. Then they are dead. And before you fruit out, boric acid occurs naturally in the soil.”… “1 part boric acid 3 parts sugar and 5 parts warm water. I use teaspoons as the measure for each part. Also place a piece of waffle/cake in your trap and soak it in the borax mix and ensure there is enough mixture to make puddles in the trap, the adult ants drink the liquid and the baby ants eat solids. The adult ants will take the solid food back to the baby ants in the nest who will then feed it to the queen/s so all ants eventually die.”… “Does this mean its safe to use your boric acid mixture around our veggie / herb garden?”… “Yes it is – when used as required. It can also be mixed in with the soli as a fertiliser and assist in keeping pests at bay.”
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Here’s some more suggestions… “i stuck my garden hose down the hole and walked away, came back half an hour later and havent seen them since, been four years.”… ” I dig a hole in the mound that I can pour buckets of rainwater in and I drown them all adding water as I need. Basically it becomes a big flood scene with the eggs all over. It’s biblical!”… “The couple of times I’ve gotten fire ants in my garden beds I simply piled a bit of hot manure on top of the nest. The ants relocate somewhere else and I’m left with a fertilized bed. If they don’t leave then add more manure and stir it into the nest. Haven’t had it fail yet”… “I used 4 gallons of boiling water twice over two days. The nest ceased to exist. That simple.”… “If you have more than one mound ,take a shovel and dig up a section of one mound take it to the next mound and lay it on that one. The ants will kill each other and the queen. check after a few days . Just keep laying the mounds on top of each other. I give credit to a farmer in Mississippi i believe that has a You Tube channel. It did work.”… “That’s exactly how to do it. I do this and no longer have fire ants.”
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Here’s an interesting comment one htat you can tuck away for if you ever get termites… “About twenty years ago friend of mine had a termite problem and he called an old highschool friend of his who owns a pest control company and asked him what to do about it and they guy told him how to fix the problem (which required digging around the foundation of the house and using a chemical spray). Then the guy told him that if he has fire ants in his yard to leave them alone and not to kill them as they will eventually kill all the termites in his house. He said that fire ants regard termites as their favorite food.”
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Safety protocols… “Aluminum melts at 1220F. We bring it up to 1800F and it takes more time for it to solidify. There are a few other techniques that we use that helps the aluminum flow deep. However, sometimes we fail. Even though it may be a deep mound, solidified aluminum can block the few passages to the deep part. Some turn out better than others.”……… “I’ve worked around molten metal and you guys have been lucky. If you ever have the alum. hit a water pocket its going to explode all over you. You need face shields, leggings, abdomen, feet and hand leathers. PPE is cheap compared to a bad burn from molten alum..”……… “We have worked around it for a long time and know what happens when you pour aluminum in a wet or high moisture ground. We have even had it blow up on us. We know the consequences. We find ourselves using PPE more and more since we aren’t as young or able to dodge hot lava like we used to. On a side note PPE only protects you so much. It’s not 100% effective but it helps.”
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Sorry for the long overdue update.
Firstly I wanted to let you know Morag, very few people here are worried about this situation and it’s as simple as pouring boiling water down a nest to eliminate them. The chemicals they are broad applying are the main concern. Once broken down by UV, the “approved” and some have heard claims of “organic” chemical separates into as many as 8 constituent parts, some listed as forever chemicals.
They have recently changed their description of these chemicals to “hormone disrupters” so, you know…not actually poison by definition.
In any case, my day came.
I was greeted on my driveway by two DAF officers in full uniform, with clipboards and ID cards and sloppy hats. They had stepped past our front gate and walked the 350m down our winding driveway.
When I asked them if they had seen my “Solutions Empowerment Spec” Notice of Liability they said, yep sure…that doesn’t apply to us. Oh? Yes, we’re Dept of Fisheries Officials so it’s our business to be here.
Show me evidence of the contract you have with the owner of this land that you have business with the owner I said. (let’s see what they do with that)
Oh that’s not necessary because we have a Biosecurity Order to treat for Fire Ants in this area.
Is that right?
Well, I’ll let you know right now that you are trespassing on private property without any evidence of a contract with the owner and you have agreed by your actions to be invoiced individually for $400 000.
It was enough for them to realise I wasn’t going to listen to their script and as I was on my way to work, I said I’ll be leaving now and you can go first.
Their last words of interest were, we’ll just give the police officers a call and be back.
So they trudged back up the driveway, with my ute giving them no uncertain direction.
At the front gate was the rest of the team. Four minions in their high viz garb with fertilizer spreaders at the ready. https://www.bunnings.com.au/scotts-handy-green-fertiliser-spreader-hand-held-fertiliser-spreader_p3351482
I drove through, but then decided to circle back and wait…just in case the popo decided to take time from their busy day hunting criminals.
There was a lengthy phone call and then they all packed up and got back in their brand new Ford Ranger convoy…I gathered the police said they had more important things to take care of.
I thought that was it.
The next morning two police and the same two DAFFY dudes appeared on my property having walked the 350m, past the NOL on the front gate…game on.
So I proceeded to qualify with them all that they had no evidence of contract with the owner, therefore were trespassing and could look forward to an invoice for their time. They all smiled, listened to my pitch and then told me what would be happening.
I conditionally agreed to their offer under the condition that everyone showed evidence of a long list of certificates, qualifications, police checks etc if not in their possession could be obtained for a future appointment.
And then out of the corner of my eye I see four high viz goons traipsing through my garden.
The sprint started…
If anyone wants to know where this saga ended up, let me know. I’ve typed this much and have run out of time for now. Please forgive if it takes me a little while to get back…
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This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by pbcook.
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This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by