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Efforts to assess the full extent of B.C.’s European fire ant infestations are being frustrated by homeowners who refuse access to workers sent to confirm their presence.

Many of the homeowners fear that a confirmed infestation will hamper their ability to sell their home, according to Thompson Rivers University entomologist Rob Higgins.

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“We have issues in some neighbourhoods where residents don’t want us to know, because they are concerned about property values,” said Higgins, who says at least 20 homeowners have refused his survey crew access to their property.

Higgins is conducting surveys of known infestations and doing random sampling throughout southwestern B.C. to assess the extent of infestations by these tiny aggressive insects.

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While only two new infestations have been confirmed this year — in Surrey and Coquitlam — Higgins said that infestations were being added to the list every two weeks during the past two summers.