To the horror of local residents, fire ant colonies have been seen invading an area spanning from Tiu Keng Leng and Tseung Kwan O MTR Station to LOHAS Park MTR Station.
In July, over a thousand anthills were found in seven different locations in southern Tseung Kwan O, reports Oriental Daily.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) removed the anthills but in just two months’ time, the colonies appeared to have bounced back and relocated to LOHAS Park instead.
Frustrated by the sighting of more than 10 new anthills near LOHAS Park, Sai Kung District Councillor Fong Kwok Shan shared her bewilderment at the speed with which the ants moved their homes.
“I use a tree branch to poke the anthill and over a hundred fire ant came out,” she said.
“I ran away immediately.”
(Coconauts, please do not attempt this yourself! It’s all fun and games until you’re covered in thousands of stinging ants.)
She added that the fire ants’ migration could affect nearby residents.
Tseung Kwan O residents first noticed that fire ants had conquered government-owned land near the Tiu Keng Leng MTR Station.
Some residenst have been bitten, blisters forming on their feet. (Seriously, don’t provoke the ants.)
The FEHD has been ordered to perform another ant termination operation, but we can already hear the ants faint voices saying, “We’’ll be back”.
Photo: Alex Wild via Flickr
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