How do you get rid of flying ants? To understand this, read more on this articles on the methods (step by step) on ways to kill and get rid of flying ants for good in homes. Can you tell the differences between a flying ant and a termite?
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Well, before going straight to ways and methods to get rid of flying ants, it is important to understand what flying ants and what they are attracted to. This will help to avoid any future infestation. Other than being attracted to sugar, honey and other sweet things like many other ants species, flying ants tend to be attracted to certain type of places
High places make it an attractive site to land and gather in numbers. That is why it is not unusual for flying ants to gather around chimneys, towers, treetops, etc. You shouldn’t be worried when flying ants get into your home.
In a nutshell, how to get rid of flying ants is to first target their point of entry into your house. You may use ant spray to disperse them around wall cracks, windows, chimneys and other potential entry points. You may also use other alternative natural methods to get rid of the ants.
What are flying ants and how they look like?
Flying ants are not really a special or unique type of ants. They belong to different species of ant like the carpenter ants, fire ants, sugar ants and many others that grow and develop wings when they are ready to mate. They are considered as reproductive members of the colony.
In fact every ants’ species usually have flying members that come out for a brief period to mate and increase their population. Flying ants consists of male or drones and females, the queen. After mating, the males will die while the queen will lose their wings and look for nests to start a new generation.
Flying ants are common to be seen swarming in thousands because their colonies send out many of them at one go. Only a small number out of these will survive the mating stage and start a new generation. While the majority of them will end up being eaten up by predators like birds.
So what do these flying ants look like? Most people find it hard to distinguish between flying ants and termites probably due their size and wings. But identifying a flying ant shouldn’t be hard for you after all.
A flying ant has a pinched body between the thorax and the abdomen. They also have a four wings with unequal lengths with the two front wings being slightly longer than the two back wings. See below image to get the insight. (Pictures)
Differences between flying vs flying termites
Can you tell the difference between a flying ant and a termite? Read here as we try to expound on the disparities between these two ants.
Flying ants are very common across the U.S but are often confused with termites. However, some flying ants appear much larger than the termites. Here’s how to tell if the ant is a termite or one of those flying ants. To tell whether it is ant or a termite or not, look for:
- Dark-colored bodies
- Narrow waists
- Elbow antennae
- Hind wings being shorter than front wings
If it has any of the above mentioned characteristics, then it is a flying ant. They are likely to be seen in the open then the termites. The other common difference is their level and type of destruction in homes. Termites eat wood in which they dig a tunnel while flying ants are only nest in it but do not eat.
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Do flying ants pose any risks to humans?
We’ve mentioned before carpenter ants and pharaoh ants are just two examples of ants that fly in their colonies. Carpenter ants are known to chew through wood and create property damage. Generally flying ants do not cause any risk to human.
But they can a significant destruction on property such as wood. They do not bite or sting and they are not poisonous. But they can be annoying and a swarm of flying ants is a nuisance and can lead to full ant infestation around your home.
How to Get Rid of Flying Ants Effectively
You now know what flying ants are. The next step is to know how to get rid and kill this stubborn flying ants at home. Here’s how to get rid of flying ants in your home.
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1. Target point of Entry
If you are going to kill and get rid of flying ants at home, then this is one of the method to start with. It is one of the easiest way to get rid of flying ants. Target their point of entry into the house. You can use ant killer sprays to disperse them around wall cracks, windows, chimneys and other potential gateways. Thereafter, spray other areas in your house.
2. Spread Diatomaceous Earth
The other easiest and effective way to kill and remove flying ants’ infestation in your home is using diatomaceous earth. It is a natural insecticide that do not pose any health risk to human or animals thus making it one of the safest method to use.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in the pantry, window panes, chimneys and other places in your home where the infestation is. You can also throw some of it in their nest.
3. Plug in a Bug Zapper
You should try this method whenever you have flying ants’ infestation in your home. It may be noisy but old-fashioned but it is still one of the most effective means of killing pests. One or two bug zappers is enough. Place them where you’ve noticed a number of flying ant activities.
Commercial zappers are made to attract ants on their own. You may also add a bait but just be careful not to use too much.
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4. Insect Tape
This is not a new method or not unheard of. You can do this but make sure the insect tape is of high quality with a very sticky surface. In order to make it efficient, you’ll have to hang it in rooms that flying ants frequent.
How about you try placing food on some tape. Or still sprinkle sugar on the tape to attract the ants. It might not be the most efficient method but if you want to reduce the infestation of flying ants, you should give it a try.
5. Spray with Dish Soap
If you want to effectively get rid of these flying ants invading your home, then dish soap alone can be the best solution to do it. The dish soap sticks to the ant bodies and dehydrates them killing them. How to make a dish soap spray:-
- Fill a spray bottle with soap and add water
- Mix well to distribute the soap evenly in water
- Spray the winged ants
- Repeat this procedure several times
6. Borax and Sugar
Borax is highly poisonous to ants. To use this method effectively to kill flying ants, mix with some sweet such as sugar or honey. Borax mixed sugar is effective to kill the entire ant colony. The ant will carry the poisonous food to the colony to feed the queen. The ants will son die off. How to make borax and sugar ant bait;
- Mix equal parts of borax and sugar or honey
- Add water to the mixture to make a fine paste
- Spread the paste onto a piece of paper or cardboard
- Place it on the area where the ants are seen to be hovering
The ants will be attracted to sugar in the paste and they will carry some to the rest of the colony. You may need to make more of the paste and place it on suspecting entry points. Note: borax is poisonous and it can harm small children and pets, be extra careful when using it at home.
7. Use Boiling Water
This is another effective way to get rid of flying ants at home. But you need first to find the ant colony for it to work effectively as you desire. Pour boiling water over the anthill. Hot water will kill some if not all. The rest will have to move in response to the threat.
8. Baking Soda
Baking soda is another efficient way to kill the flying ants at home. You can mix it with powdered sugar. You can mask the odor to cause the flying ants to take it back to the nest and to the queen. Sugar in the mixture will act as an ant bait. As soon as they eat it, they will die.
9. Natural Peppermint
Peppermint is another natural way to get rid of those winged ants at home. It works by suffocating the ants to death. If you make the spray, make sure to mix it dishwashing soap and water. This is a perfect combination to get rid of flying ants.
Final Thoughts
It is easy to kill flying ants but the problem will not be over if you don’t get rid of the entire colony. I would advise you to identify the nest first before applying any of the above method to remove flying ants. Otherwise, if you can’t find the nest, it will be useless. You can only kill much but not all.
By killing the entire nest, you kill the queen. Then the flying ants’ infestation will never be a bother to you. It is also important to use a variety of ant killing methods to get the desired result in a short period.
