HILO, Hawaii (AP) — The Hawaii County Council wants something done about little red ants that showed up on the Big Island nearly a decade ago.

The council's Environmental Management Committee meets tomorrow to consider a resolution to urge the administration to designate someone to coordinate control efforts.

Little red ants are considered a big problem. Their stings are painful to humans and their bites can cause animals to go blind.

Tommy Thompson is a biologist with the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

He says it's hard to control little red ants because their colonies are relatively small and it's easy for them to pick up and move to new locations.

The ants are native to South and Central America.