Wendell Park's Ant Invasion: A Pet-Safe Solution

0:00It's April 1st, from your city to your ears. This is Durham News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. Windal Park in North Carolina is straight up swarmed by ants right now. We're talking tens of millions of these 4 Micah Integra critters, also called Red Mount Ants, crawling everywhere from the athletic fields to the walking paths. Experts say if you step out your car, they might already be hitching a ride up your legs. These ants have been building up since at least 2014, forming massive super colonies with multiple queens that just keep multiplying. The park sits about 15 miles east of downtown Raleigh, a spot folks hit for sports and strolls, but now it's ant central with some of the highest densities in the southeast United States. Visitors are feeling the burn literally. These ants don't sting, but they bite and spray formic acid, leaving painful welts on skin. The media's blowing up was stories from families at games or walks who got caught off guard

1:00and covered in the swarm. To fight back, the town bore Greenlit $21,600 for Project Intina, back in March. They're teaming with an NC State expert using a pet safe bait that ants carry back to wipe out whole colonies running through September. While there are nuisance in these numbers, ants like these play a key role, recycling nutrients and managing pests in the ecosystem. The town's on it, monitoring progress, so hopefully Wendell Park bounces back smooth for everyone soon.