Ants hitch a ride on Fiji iPod

A returned traveller got more than he bargained for when he found a colony of Singapore ants had followed him home from Fiji.

The Auckland man discovered the infestation in the packaging of an iPod he had bought at Nadi Airport.

About 50 live Singapore ants – highly destructive ants that can eat through plastic and wiring – were crawling around the iPod.

He immediately phoned the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, which advised him to put the iPod with its ants, not seen in New Zealand, into the freezer.

MAF spokesman Phil Barclay said the ants were aggressive pests that built big colonies in homes and buildings. They preyed on other insects and chewed holes in fabric and electrical wiring.

"They're not a human health risk. They do sting, but they are more of a residential pest."

Mr Barclay said he had no idea how the ants came to be in the iPod packaging but the man's house had been ant-baited and given the all-clear.