Flying ants: what is that, and how to get rid of it?

Home pests are one of the most difficultly solved problems, because we don’t notice them until they invade a considerable part of home. But there is a type of home insects that are hard to ignore from the very beginning of their visit. If you have asked yourself: “Can ants fly? And what are they doing in my house?”, it’s high time to resolve to drastic measures. This article explains why flying ants may be dangerous, and how to get rid of these bugs forever.

What is dangerous about flying ants?

Most people may think that just like their crawling siblings, flying carpenter ants are relatively harmless and practically invisible (until you look at the floor more attentively). In fact, there is no such kind of insects as “flying ants”, this is a sub-type of red, black and ginger ants that exists during reproduction period (lasts in the summer from July to August). Ants fly to find mates for coupling and giving offspring, and in the end of this period female ants just throw their wings off, while male flying ants are usually eaten by their congeners, because they are of no help anymore. Sweet-feeders and working bugs have no wings, so they don’t disturb people so much. What do flying ants look like? They tend to be a bit bigger than their mates and have wings, but their color is the same as for the rest species.

Can such ants do any harm? Of course: although flying species mostly live outdoors, they get back home to eat, and may create new nests all around the house, which will complicate the battle. Do flying roaches or ants bite? Yes, they tend to be very aggressive during this period, especially red ones. If you stay in their way, or try to kill them, most probably, they will defend themselves and the queen. As you may guess, ant bites are painful and dangerous because of bacteria and viruses transmitted by the insects. Flying ant bite may also cause allergic reactions and epileptic shock in human and some pets. It goes without saying that all types of ants emit special acid that destroys all kinds of materials and may damage walls, the floor, ceiling, furniture and personal items.

Main characteristics: nutrition, habitat and other biological data

Just like many other home pests, flying ants or termites eat the same things human do: bread, grains, fruits and vegetables, etc. Most people know that these bugs love sweets and sugar, being attracted by its smell. Don’t leave meat on the table – they also feel and like its strong smell. But flying ants may live even without food, if they find any source of water. That is why most frequently their colonies invade kitchen and bathrooms. Moreover, if bugs lack food, they may start devouring wooden pieces of furniture, textile and even building materials.

If ants invade house, theoretically, they may live wherever they want on the condition the place is warm and dry. All the required nutrition and water are supplied by working ants who are searching for it around home. Ants can make nests inside walls, under the floor and even in cabinets inside the piles of clothes and towels. Once they arrange a colony, it never moves from one place to another until there is a serious threat.

Flying ant is among the most intellectually developed insects. Existing on the Earth for about 140 mln years, ants a more or less complicated social hierarchy, with the queen and other species giving offspring, male ants participating in fertilization, slave ants and even slave owners. Indeed, when we see ants moving in our houses, this is only a minor part of their strictly organized life, with the most important things happening inside the nests.

Learning to exterminate the bugs

The question “How to get rid of flying ants?” is hard to be answered unambiguously. The thing is that with the time being the insects develop immunity to different products, but it happens slowly, so if you don’t postpone the solution of this problem, it will disappear soon. There are many natural and chemical ant remedies, and in most cases they must be combined to achieve the desired result as quickly as possible. Before applying remedies for ants, please read this article and mind the following:

• The first thing you should do is to restrict access to food and water for insects. Don’t leave your meals, crumbles, water stains and snacks – ants feel their smell perfectly and just in a matter of one night establish a route to food source. For the same reason store all dry foods (grains, cereals, sugar) in properly closed containers.
• To kills ants, it is not enough to put traps and poison randomly. You should track them to their nest (or at least as close to the nest as possible), and leave all the traps along their routes.
• Use all remedies carefully, especially if you have small children and pets.
• If you have an opportunity, call disinfection service and ask for help – sometimes this is the only thing that helps.

Now you know how to kill flying ants, this is a hard, but possible mission.

Read also: Termites vs ants who is more dangerous?

List of natural remedies

Before trying to kill ants or termites by special chemicals and traps, try natural remedies. There are lots of options for getting rid of flying ants without spending much money for poison and baits.

1. Mint is what ants hate in any form. Put some mint oil essentials around the perimeters of doors and windows, and its aroma will frighten the bugs.
2. These insects also can’t stand .. cinnamon and coffee smell, so you can leave some pieces in the kitchen, bathroom and near their nests. Most probably, you won’t see flying ants in house
3. Usual cream of wheat is used to kill the bugs. How does it help? This product expands in the stomach, making fed up pests literally explode. It may be used for exterminating both flying and usual working ants. But don’t leave it for a long time. Otherwise, it will absorb moisture and turn into usual harmless nutrition for insects.
4. Vinegar smell also scares flying ants, and is good, if you want to restrict their access to your house. Use it for mopping floors and washing dishes, and the pests will avoid these clean areas.
5. Lemon juice contains some acids that react with ants’ natural acid, killing the insects. Also suitable for putting on ants’ traces, making routing more difficult for them.
6. Mix borax, water and sugar, make small balls and put them around your house. The smell and taste of sugar will attract the insects, and borax slowly kills them, which allows bringing some poison in the nest. This is one of the oldest and most effective ways of resisting ant invasion.
7. Found the ant-heaps? Pour boiling water on it. That doesn’t help against flying ants, but at least you can prevent them from getting back home, and, probably, they will fly away.
8. See where flying ants like to rest? Leave some baking soda mixed with sugar in these places. When eaten, this mixture will male insects die in a matter of several minutes.

List of special remedies

To achieve greater results, it is recommended to combine special remedies with natural ones. Moreover, you will need remedies of different kinds to exterminate the whole colony, because various ants react on various traps. Here is the list of the most effective solutions.

1. Terro offers a whole range of solution, starting from ant baits and finishing by liquid traps. Use sprays and powder for ant routes and place traps around the house to attract flying ants.
2. Raid spray is the best remedy against flying ants, because it may be applied everywhere.
3. Ortho insect killing spray comes in a big container, and is enough for treating a big house. It kills existing bugs and prevents new from entering the house for up to 12 months.
4. Bayer Fire Ant killer is suitable for using in houses with small children and pets. This powder has no smell for people, but is very scary for the insects. Kills not the queen only, but the entire colony with the mound.
5. Ultrasonic repellents is a controversial issue. This is a special device that is used indoors and emits the noise not sensed by humans, but heard by bugs. It is not known whether its ultrasonic sound affects pets, so you should use it carefully. You may give it a try, but there is no 100% warranty that it will have any impact on insects.

Preventive measures

To protect your house from these bugs, do the following:

• Don’t leave foods and water.
• Inspect the house from time to time.
• Wash the floor, dishes and table properly.

That will at least limit access to nutrition and help you to prevent severe contamination.

Asking yourself “Can I exterminate flying ants in my house?” Yes, you can, but it will take time and patience.