Little Fire Ants are not widely established on Maui and any suspect ants should be collected and reported to the Maui Invasive Species Committee or through 643PEST.org.
As of September 2025, little fire ants have been found 28 times on Maui. The map below provides background and status on each of the finds. Locations are representative. Thanks to community support and grant funding, the Maui Invasive Species Committee is able to treat little fire ants at no cost to residents.
- Active treatment: 12
- Monitoring: 7
- Eradicated: 9
Island-wide Surveys
The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity regularly finds and destroys little fire ants during inspections at the airport and harbor, however, they cannot inspect 100% of material moved interisland there is an ever-present possibility that little fire ants will slip through. For this reason, any suspected populations should be reported.
Regular surveys will help prevent little fire ants from becoming widespread on Maui.
What happens if you have LFA on your property?
If we find LFA on your property, MISC will make a treatment plan and provide treatment at no cost to you. MISC will verify the LFA are gone with a post-treatment survey. MISC customizes each treatment plan based on the site use and surrounding environment. Treatments generally take one year, every six weeks. Once we no longer find LFA, the infestation enters “monitoring phase,” where we will check for LFA every year to verify that they have not returned. After five consecutive years of surveys finding no LFA, the infestation is considered “eradicated.”
Treatment Methods
Keep in mind that there is a difference between pest control (calling an exterminator) and pest eradication. Pest control reduces the pests in an area, like your home, but the threat of re-introduction from outside of the treated area is ever-present. Pest eradication eliminates every last individual in the population. If eradication is successful, there will be no pests left to re-establish. This process is meticulous and painstaking, requiring many years of surveying, treating, and repeating to achieve. Through extensive testing and field experience, the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab (HAL) and Maui Invasive Species Committee have developed specialized techniques to eradicate little fire ant infestations.
Last updated September 2025