RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA
Residents of the city and neighboring Trabuco Canyon are not the only ones seeing red when it comes to the infestation of fire ants.
The 1/4-inch-long insect is challenging local nurseries financially and forcing workers to spend a good deal of time trying to stop the ants from spreading.
Already the red fire ant has infested more than 500 square miles of Orange County, with Rancho Santa Margarita and Trabuco Canyon suffering the highest number of confirmed sites.
The tropical ants cause damage at nurseries by eating plants, and can hurt the environment by destroying the eggs of ground-nesting birds.
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