The Hawai'i 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 today to consider a resolution urging 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, a biologist with the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, said it's hard to control these 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.