Fire ants hang tough in Virginia park

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Officials in Virginia Beach, Va., say they aren't sure how a fire ant invasion at a park started but the mounds of stinging insects aren't easy to get rid of.

More than 25 fire ant mounds have been found in City View Park this summer and the stinging bugs are still being found despite repeated treatments with insecticides.

No one has been injured, however the Norfolk (Va.) Virginian-Pilot said Tuesday that the mounds are often found on baseball diamonds and the ants are easily agitated if someone disturbs the mounds

"We're not really sure where they're coming from in City View," said Rick Rowe, parks coordinator in Virginia Beach. "We bring in clay for the ball fields from time to time but it's unlikely they are coming in with the clay."

The Virginian-Pilot said seven other parks in the city had fire ants at one time or another this summer but the infestations were wiped out in all but City View Park.