Wendell Park in Wendell, North Carolina, has turned into ant central this spring, with mound-building insects so thick they are reshaping how people use the place. Walking paths, picnic spots and the popular disc-golf course are now crisscrossed with dense, persistent ant highways that have neighbors worried and town leaders feeling pressure to step in.
In response, the Wendell Town Board signed off on $21,600 for an experimental effort dubbed Project Antenna. The trial began in March and is scheduled to run through September, and samples pulled from the park have been identified as Formica integra, according to The News & Observer. Town officials told the paper they want to cut down the number of mounds without wiping out the species entirely, and they are working with university researchers to see whether baiting can lower ant counts while keeping the park functioning as an ecosystem.
What's the species?
Formica integra, sometimes called a red mound or field ant, is a mound-building member of the Formica genus. The species is found across parts of North America and typically builds mound colonies in wooded and grassy habitats, according to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
How Project Antenna works
The town's pilot relies on slow-acting bait stations that worker ants carry back to their nests. It is a standard approach that targets colonies instead of just knocking down workers seen on the surface. According to N.C. State Extension, choosing the right baits and placing them carefully can limit exposure for people and pets while still moving insecticide into the colony, and university entomologists are monitoring how the trial plays out.
Residents and park users react
Disc-golf players and nearby residents have been posting videos and photos that show ants moving in thick, unbroken lines. Local coverage and those social clips helped push the town to address the issue after several residents described the infestation as unusually severe. Some observers told reporters the footage suggested Wendell Park might have some of the highest mound densities in the Southeast, according to reporting in The News & Observer.
Why not eradicate them?
Town officials emphasize that ants do real work in the environment, from recycling nutrients to scavenging and helping keep other pests in check. The plan is to reduce their numbers, not erase them. N.C. State Extension advises identifying the ant species and its colony structure before any broad treatment and recommends integrated steps like sanitation, exclusion and targeted baits to reduce conflicts while limiting ecological damage.
Project Antenna is set to run through September, with town staff and university partners tracking mound counts and watching for any unintended side effects before suggesting next steps. Officials say they will use what they learn from the pilot to decide whether to scale up, tweak their strategy or simply see whether seasonal changes ease the invasion on their own.
