Winged Flying Ants

September 9th, 2009 Posted in Ants & Roaches




Tons of little specs swirling in front of your eyes, buzzing all around you. What are they? They’re everywhere!

Flying ants. Though they only show up during certain parts of the year, they can be troublesome.

In this article, you will learn the following about winged ants:

  • Ant or Termite?

  • Reproduction

  • What are swarms?

  • What if you see a swarm?

  • When are they around?

  • How to get rid of them


Ant or Termite?

Winged ants start mating around the same time as winged termites, so how can you tell the difference?

Wings:

  • Both have two pairs of wings.

  • However, an ant’s back pair of wings will be smaller than its front wings.

Antennae:

  • A termites antennae are straight.

  • Ants’ antennae are bent, or “elbowed.”

Body:

  • An ant has three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen.

  • Termites only have a head and body.


Reproduction

Winged Ants are the unfertilized queens and the reproductive males from colonies. Most types of ants create winged offspring for reproduction.

They collect in swarms to reproduce and either create new colonies or expand their own.

  1. The queen will mate with many males, but a male will only fertilize one queen.

  2. After the mating, the wings will fall off.

  3. The males will usually fall and die after they lose their wings.

  4. The fertilized queens will land and begin searching for a nesting place.

If you see a queen out on her own, with or without wings, it doesn’t mean there’s a colony built yet, but that she is looking for a suitable location. With some species, it takes several years after the colony is established before the queen can produce reproductive males.


What are Swarms?

What are they doing?

The swarms will collect around the tallest object in the area, like a chimney. This is called hilltopping. The queens will dive and swerve from this point, thereby finding only the fastest and most agile males to mate with.

Who’s doing it?

Carpenter ants and pharaoh ants are the most common species to have wings and swarm.


Swarms consist of ants from several colonies, if there is more than one around. This encourages movement of the colonies as well as genetic diversity.

Where are they doing it?

Swarms will usually occur outdoors, sometimes consisting of hundreds of winged ants.






What if you see a swarm?

Are they inside?

If you have a large swarm inside, it could mean you have several colonies somewhere. Collect several of the bodies in a small vial and take them to a professional to find out what kind they are.

  • One or two flying ants around the house doesn’t mean much, just that there are stray ants floating around.

  • Sometimes dead males will fall into a chimney, also not an issue.

Outside swarms?

  • These swarms are not harmful to humans, only irritating and intimidating.

  • Some ants, such as field ants, will swarm near a building, but still outside.

  • Though they don’t create a threat to your home, large numbers of winged ants could mean future problems.


Are they in season?

Winged ants appear in the spring or summer, when the weather starts getting warm.

  • Triggered by the humidity and temperature, the swarms appear within a few days of a rainstorm triggered by the humidity and temperature.

  • The swarms last for a day or so before the ants disperse over a wide area.


How to get rid of them

  • Vacuum thoroughly if there are only a few ants. Dispose of the bag into an outdoor trashcan.

  • Clean up crumbs and scraps of food, including pet food and opened food containers, to eliminate the smell.

  • Chemical insecticides will kill off the ants in the immediate area, but won’t help destroy the nest without targeted treatment.

Or there’s the EcoSMART route. Kill ants safely and effectively with EcoSMART Ant and Roach Killer . It’s both child- and pet-friendly and made with natural ingredients to help with your ant problem.

  1. 15 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!

  2. By Lisa Heard on Sep 24, 2009

    My back yard has been taken over by ants…not just the tiny black ants, I mean these huge black ants..and earlier this summer I saw these winged things which I thought was termites, but after reading this I believe they were winged ants. There is so many ants in my yard I refuse to take my 17 month old out. It’s terrible.

  3. By Ann Ayers on Sep 24, 2009

    We have been invaded with frying ants. My guest bathroom had a few one day and all of a sudden seems like a million appeared. we are stunned as what to do. Please help us.

  4. By jeremy thompson on Oct 21, 2009

    it is late october and i have a bunch of flying aunts around and on my grill what should i do?

  5. By Lisa O on Oct 24, 2009

    I live in Florida and these creatures are making me crazy. I need a way to get rid of ants that is friendly to the environment and to my animals. We have both winged and unwinged ants and they are in the yard. they keep trying to come in the house and all I can do is keep killing them. I would like a way that is safe..

  6. By valrie elias on Oct 25, 2009

    I have been having a problem with Roaches since i let my sister her boyfriend and there kids move in i have never in my life had roaches and i dont want them now they ar very disgusting if anyone knows of a product that works really good please let me know i dont want these disgusting things in my house anymore!!!!!

  7. By Marie Johnston on Oct 25, 2009

    I have a lot of ant mounds right now and at this time of year I notice that they become flying ants and I am concerned that if I don’t do something soon to get rid of them totally that they will bed in my home and other outdoor buildings and act like termites. I don’t want them to bed in my wood and my boards become rotten so please help me…what should I do or use to be rid of them?

  8. By Marlene Irvin on Oct 31, 2009

    It’s almost November and I saw a swarm of ants by the corner of my house. I don’t want them to get inside. They all have wings but I don’t see many flying…they are just all over the ground on my drive and under my big evergreen tree. What caqn I do?

  9. By mark baron on Nov 1, 2009

    We have an indoor pool and have been having what seems like hundreds od flying ants accumulate in the corner of the room. I have put ant granules down in the pool cover box but they do not seem to be any down there. All the ones that are accumulated in the corner are near dead but not dead. We vacuum them up every few days but they keep coming back. We can’t seem to see where they are coming from.

  10. By valerie hammontree on May 29, 2010

    this is the second time i noticed a bunch of black ants with wings all around outside my house. It’s like something happens and then they all just fall from the sky! There in the seat of all of our outdoor chairs, on top of our garbage can….what is going on? is this the result of the mating swarms?

  11. By valerie hammontree on May 29, 2010

    oh and all of those ants with wings are dead

  12. By Litta on Jun 18, 2010

    I have swarms of ants at the front of my detached garage(around the concrete and the earth nearby). Also around the base of the concrete of my back porch. Smaller ants are in my dining room area(hardwood floors) and are spreading toward the living room area which is carpeted.I read somewhwere that sprinkling baby powder(which is pet friendly) will make them disperse. Seems to work but not entirely. At this rate I may need to redorate the house to match the powdery white floor. Please help!!

  13. By Crystal on Jul 30, 2011

    I have a swarm of ants in my bathroom, some are flying, maybe 25 a day but then there are the little red ants under my tub that are without number. I need help to find the source of these ants. It has been happening for the past 3 days, what can I do to get rid of ants and stop them completely? I also have a crawl space and I’m wondering if that area is the source. What would an ants nest actually look like?

  14. By emily on Aug 18, 2011

    Just moved into a duplex and discovered flying ants, possibly carpenter ants. We found only six or so yesterday but today there are well over 25 that we have killed. I have two kids and need something that will not be toxic to them. Thanks.

  15. By frances on Aug 21, 2011

    how can i get rid of my flying ants? they are under my tree and in it thanks

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