Yellow crazy ants have also been recorded in human communities, where they are seen as agricultural pests, causing outbreaks of sap-sucking insects. They may also cause blindness in humans, especially infants, as people can get formic acid on their hands and then accidentally touch their eyes.
Ants also have a detrimental effect on tourism by threatening endemic species and altering the habitat. This was the case on Bird Island after the ants eliminated the island’s main attraction, the sooty terns (Sterna fuscata). More worrying is the fact that a recent study indicates that A. gracilipes has the potential to inhabit vast areas of continental Australia. By using potential distribution and climate matching researchers concluded that the ant is capable of occupying most of northern and north-eastern Australia.