Rasberry crazy ants are invading homes in the U.S. and they're expected to affect rural locations by the trillions.
The ants were originally discovered in Texas back in 2002, and there have been a number of sightings since than in at least four other states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida.
"If you go to a rural area they've taken over, it's silent. What you hear is nothing, no grasshoppers, no birds, nothing but the wind going through the leaves," said Tom Rasberry, exterminator who discovered that first colony in 2002.
The ants multiple quickly, and like to live in warm, tight spaces near electrical equipment and in car engines.
There is some good news however, as that the ants don't sting or bite like fire ants, which have been around since the 1970s.
"It's literally a huge problem," said Joe Stuckey, a Houston environmental attorney, according to Reuters.
Stuckey uses chemicals to kill the ants that invade and swam his 40-acre home. Once they're killed he scoops them all up with a shovel and unleashes the chemicals again to try preventing them from coming back.
He's one of the many residents in the U.S. to allow researchers to use their properties in order to learn more about the ants.
The ants have been found in the mall area of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, though they have not done "any significant damage," said NASA Houston Facilities Management and Operations Chief Shelia Powell in a statement.
"We are principally concerned about the possible damage to infrastructure such as electronics, employees' automobiles, and our facilities," Powell said.
Traditional extermination chemicals don't seem to kill the ants, causing more problems for homeowners and exterminators who don't know what to do.
"You can spray and it will kill tens of thousands, but they come back," said Stuckey. "If you took a restaurant-sized pepper jug and poured it on the floor, that's how thick they are."
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