Following successful eradication of the Yellow Crazy Ant from the northeast Queensland region around Townsville, Yamaha Sky Division, in conjunction with the CSIRO, was engaged to undertake the eradication of the highly invasive Argentine Ant from Norfolk Island.
Challenge
Due to its geographical location and the rugged and often inaccessible terrain found on Norfolk Island, traditional methods used to eradicate the damaging infestation of Argentine Ant had proven to be difficult, slow, inefficient, and ultimately unsuccessful.
Sky Division Solution
Using the autopilot feature of the FAZER R GM unmanned helicopter, 30kg chemical payloads were efficiently spready across the targeted areas with pinpoint accuracy. Areas only accessible by air were also targeted with 21 tonnes of pesticide spread over 315 hectares.
Result
Believed to be the largest ant eradication program undertaken by a UAV anywhere in the world, the 2019 Sky Division program achieved a result that years of baiting and other ground-based eradication methods had failed to deliver.
UAV Benefits
Pinpoint payload accuracy by satellite guided auto-pilot system
