The ants have plagued the Hong Hock See Temple for over a year. One devotee had to be treated for severe bites at a hospital last month.

In an effort to eradicate the pests, a temple disciple used a vacuum cleaner to gather up the ants humanely before releasing them into a nearby forest -- to no avail.

“We haven’t found a solution so far,” said Elma Lin, a volunteer at the temple. ”Nothing has worked.”

According to Lin, the decades-old temple has more than 10 monks living there and hundreds of devotees.

Boon Keng, the temple's chief monk, believes that the monks have to 'respect other living things' in the temple.

"When an ant drops on you, you must not flick it away or blow on it," he said. "If you do, it will bite to hold on. You just have to shake it off."

Until a solution can be found, a warning sign has been put up that reads 'Beware poisonous ants. Do not sit under the tree.'

Boon suspects the ants may have some idea of what is going on:

"Maybe the ants like the humans here because they know we cannot kill them."