Pest control experts have been drafted in to clear a Southend housing estate of some exotic but unwelcome lodgers - tropical red ants.
Homes on the Woodgrange Drive estate have been infested by the insects, which normally live near the Equator.
Called Pharaoh Ants, the unwanted creatures are smaller than the common black members of the species normally found in this country and usually prefer temperatures in the high 80s.
Estuary Housing Association, which is responsible for the estate, called in pest control experts after residents first discovered the ants three weeks ago.
It took almost two weeks for the rare visitors to be identified. A special poison has now been laid which will make the queen ant infertile and stop her producing further generations.
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