A large-scale search for an invasive pest species of ant is underway in dense rainforest in far north Queensland.

Yellow crazy ants were first detected in Cairns in 2001 and are known to spray formic acid, which burns the skin and eyes of animals, and also cause damage to crops.

Andrew McLean from the Wet Tropics Management Authority said the joint effort with Biosecurity Queensland and Queensland Parks and Wildlife would see about 30 workers comb rainforest south of Cairns to determine the scale of the infestation.

"They are miserable things to live with, people who have them in their backyards will tell you all about that," he said.

"Cane growers aren't happy about them either, there's some concerns about the impact on cane yield but for the Wet Tropics Management Authority the grave concern is the risk that the yellow crazy ants pose to the biodiversity of the wet tropics rainforest."

He said an aerial baiting program was due to start in about a fortnight.

"The aerial baiting will involve a helicopter whizzing backwards and forwards and that will be spreading granules which contain an insect growth regulator, a hormone in this case," he said.