A Kaimuki family is on a personal crusade to stomp out a pesty problem. They're calling it an ant warfare --- but these ants are more than just a nuisance.

Mabel Ishizaki has earned a different name these days.

"My wife is like Mrs. Rambo -- she's got a war against the ants here in this house," said Stan Ishizaki.

A personal war because these ants are more than just kitchen pests.

"In her bed where she was sleeping there must have been about 20 ants," said Stan. "Once she started her warfare -- they targeted her.

"They're very toxic for some reason, they're very tiny so you don't feel them crawling on you until they bite and then it's very painful when they bite," said Mabel.

And she's got the battle scars to prove her pain. "I got like about five bites all over the place and it just gets so itchy," she said. "The first thing I have to do is kill them."

State Insect Taxonomist Bernarr Kumashiro zoomed in to see what the Ishizaki's are dealing with. "Orange on the head and black on the abdomen. They have tiny stings. The scientific names is monomorium destructor," said Kumashiro.

And apparently the Monomorium Destructor -- is tough to destroy.

"It's hard to get rid of it because the ant baits don't work on them," said Kumashiro.

"In this corner there must have been about 20 or more," said Stan Ishizaki. "They brownish-reddish color and they're very tiny -- and they potent."

Hawaii is home to about 50 different types of ants but only seven of them actually sting -- this is one of them.

The stinging ants they have venom and that's what makes you itchy," said Kumashiro.

"You can't hardly feel them until they bite you --- and then you going feel a little sting -- and then you look and there they are -- and you just pinch it and just squash it," said Stan.

The state suggests using soapy water to kill the pests -- Mabel chooses to use a chalky solution called Dead Fast.

"When they get near it -- they just curl up and die," she said.

Certainly not fast enough.

The state urges residents to call its pest line at 643-pest -- if you see any type of strange insects.