I have just discovered hopper ants on a property we bought on Russell Island in SE Queensland. There are several nests in the yard and members of my family have been bitten. Ouch! SOOOOO painful. Consequently I have been hot on the trail of research to eradicate these monsters.I don't like killing insects but these creatures are not suitable living so near to us.
So far I have tried boiling water on a small nest and this worked quite well. But not so on the larger nests. I tried parmesan cheese( protein) mixed with borax and scattered near nest- no result. I have since read that the worker ants eat nectar but collect insects for the larvae. So I am going to try icing sugar mixed with borax because it is sweet. The ants are supposed to be attracted to the sugar and when they eat the borax mixed with it they die!!!!
I have also discovered that in Tasmania where the ants are also a problem they use a chemical called Solfac 50 EW. They saturate the entrance to the nest. I'm unsure if this is available to the general public. I'm going to approach the local Produce store to see what is available.
I hope this helps and perhaps you have discovered some info since your posting in January.Let me know. I'd be really keen to know. Regards silass

Hi Steve, I dont like killing these things either but my son is allergic (survival - my son carries adrenalin). Petrol in the main entry hole works a treat. Go armed with no exposed skin (reduce opportunity for them to get in to your clothes any where), take a shovel and the petrol can. Pour in the petrol and methodically dig through the ant chamber, continuing to apply petrol. You need to ensure you destroy the queen, otherwise she will just relocate. Generally a big black ant in the lowest chamber. (If no one is allergic endeavour to learn how to live with them. If you get bitten Stingose works really well as does an ice pack applied to the bite site. Good luck.