Just when you thought a Hawaiian getaway may be the cure to your seasonal depression, officials have issued a warning over an infestation of fire ants — warning residents of “ant rain.”
According to SFGATE, millions of tiny fire ants were discovered at the Wailua River State Park, located in eastern Kauai about 6 miles north of Lihue, causing the push for residents to be hyper-vigilant of their presence.
Hawaiian officials are warning that the ants are “falling from the sky” because they are bad at gripping and will fall from trees and plants, causing them to “rain down on people and sting them.”
It’s the island’s largest infestation of fire ants to date, with the Hawaii governor’s office noting the dire effects it can have on the island in an official statement last month.
“LFA (Little Fire Ants) can produce painful stings and large red welts and may cause blindness in pets,” the statement warned. “They can build up very large colonies on the ground, in trees and other vegetation, and inside buildings and homes and completely overrun a property.”
The ants, native to South America, are considered among the world’s worst invasive species. They are tiny — only one-sixteenth-inch long — and pale orange and light brown in color.
The destructive ants can also infest houses, beds, furniture, food and farms, where they are known to damage crops and sting workers.
Organizations are trying to combat infestations by rolling out testing kits to residents to detect the invasive ants. Homeowners can collect ants on their properties and send them to the island Invasive Species Committee or the Hawaii Ant Lab for identification.
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