If you start seeing winged ants in or around the outside of your home, it’s important to act quickly. The wings mean the ants are in their reproductive stage and are sexually mature. Also known as swarmers, these ants must leave their colonies and build new colonies to expand the ant population. 

What that means for your home is it’s about to become a nesting and breeding ground as the ants work to build a new colony. You don’t want that new colony to thrive and grow anywhere inside or near your home, so fast action is required.  We have some tips to help you start the extermination process promptly and effectively. 

Flying Ants or Termites? Know the Difference

Flying ants and termites look a lot alike, but termites are more likely to cause significant damage to the structure of your home. You need to call Nitran for professional help promptly if you have a termite infestation, so it helps to know the difference between these two pests. 

First, look at the waistline of the pests. Termites have thick waistlines that give the body the appearance of a straight line. Winged ants have narrow waistlines that give the appearance of two distinct body sections. 

Next, look at the wings. Winged termites have two wings that are the same size and extend from the backside. Winged ants have front and back wings, and the front wings are longer than the back ones. 

Determining the difference between winged ants and termites requires looking at one of the pests up close. If you have trouble getting a close enough look to tell, call in the experts to determine for you. If you’re certain that what you’re seeing are winged ants, we have some tips to help you eliminate them effectively. 

Why Do Flying Ants Suddenly Appear? 

Where do flying ants come from? Your home is pest-free one day and home to flying ants the next. 

If you only see one or two flying ants, then perhaps they’re establishing a new colony somewhere nearby and found an easy entry point at your home. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re colonizing your home or property. 

If you see signs of flying ants swarming in large groups, they will likely disappear within hours or days. They aim to fly in quickly and start reproduction to ensure new colonies grow and thrive. They mate with queen ants in the air and die shortly after. The queens lose their wings and burrow into the ground, starting their own colonies. 

It may seem like flying ants appear suddenly because they aren’t in the winged reproductive stage for long. The act of finding new ground for colonization and reproducing to give the new colonies a start occurs in a short period of time. 

What Attracts Flying Ants to Your Home? 

Flying ants aren’t much different from any other pest that may make its way into your home. They look for easy entry into a premise and then look for food sources. For flying ants, the attraction is often sugar, honey, and other sweet substances. The fact that they found their way into your home in search of nourishment tells you a few things: 

• They’re likely swarming to establish a new ant colony somewhere nearby. 
• Your home offers an easy entry point where they can get in and out. 
• You may have something inside your home that promises a sweet reward for entering. 

Will Flying Ants Go Away on Their Own? 

Flying ants often do go away on their own in a short period of time. The males will die shortly after mating with queens. Females technically can establish new colonies within your home, but that isn’t likely. Most will leave your home as quickly as they seem to appear, or you may find the bodies of males somewhere in your home. 

Strategies to Get Rid of Flying Ants 

While flying ants have a specific job and often go away rather quickly, you may not want to wait to see if they leave on their own. There are some things you can do to start eliminating them as they appear. 

The Fastest Approach to Eliminating Winged Ants

The best way to eliminate flying ants quickly is to simply pick them off one by one as they appear. This assumes that you see the ants and can make an approach to get rid of them. Some ways to do this include the following: 

• Roll up a newspaper or magazine and swat the ants. 
• Use your sweeper to suck up the ants. 
• Hang up fly paper or sticky tape to trap the ants as they fly. 
• Mix two parts water and one part dish soap in a spray bottle and add a few drops of peppermint essential oil. Spray the flying ants with the mixture. You can also try tea tree oil instead of peppermint. 

You can also try ant bait traps, but they aren’t always effective for flying ants. 

These strategies help eliminate flying ants actively flying through some areas of your home. They won’t address colonized wingless ants living in or near your home. That is a different problem that may require more extensive extermination strategies. 

How to Get Rid of Small Winged Ants Without Killing 

If you want to get rid of flying ants without killing them, PETA recommends using the following natural resources to repel ants: 

• Cream of tartar
• Coffee grounds 
• Cloves
• Cinnamon sticks
• Chili pepper 
• Paprika
• Dried peppermint leaves 
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Lemon peel 
• Mint plants 

You can place these items near entry points that the ants use to enter your home. That may require you to explore where they’re coming from, but the area of your home where you see them most often may give you clues. 

For flying ants specifically, remember that they only remain in the winged reproductive stage for a short period of time. If you’re only seeing flying ants and no wingless worker ants, you may try waiting it out to see if they go away on their own. 

How to Get Rid of Winged Ants in the Walls 

Seeing a few winged ants may mean something other than having an active swarm in your home. They’re likely swarming and mating nearby and will establish new colonies outdoors. 

You may have a bigger problem if you see swarms of winged ants inside or outside your home. It may mean swarming, mating, and colonizing are occurring closer to home. The winged males will die shortly after mating, but females become queens and look for new ground to establish their colonies after losing their wings. 

If you see winged ants coming from a wall, they may have found an easy entry point somewhere on that wall. You can prevent future entry by finding and sealing the crack or crevice they use. You may also want to spray the area with a mixture of water, dish soap, and either peppermint or tea tree oil. That may repel future ants from entering at that point. 

If you believe ants have taken up residence in your wall, it’s best to contact Natran to discuss safe, green solutions to the problem. You can spray a piece of paper or cloth with a homemade solution of water, dish soap, and peppermint oil, then place it in the wall where you see the ants or somewhere near the wall. 

If that doesn’t work, expert exterminators can solve the problem quickly and help you keep the ants away for good. They can help you identify all possible entry points and seal them to avoid future access to your home. Experts can also provide simple tips that help you discourage all pests from taking up residence in your home in the future. 

Do You Need Professionals to Get Rid of Winged Ants? 

You may not need a professional if you only see the occasional flying ant and your DIY extermination strategies work. Unfortunately, getting rid of flying ants and other pests is sometimes difficult once a more significant infestation is established. If you find that your efforts to eliminate the ants are unsuccessful, Natran Green Pest Control is ready to help. 

We will send a green pest control technician to your home for a thorough inspection and prompt treatment. Routine outdoor treatments can keep the ants from returning once properly exterminated from your home. We take the time to get to know your property and provide high-value tips to keep your home pest free. 

Natran’s green ant control formula includes natural ingredients like rosemary, thyme, cloves, and wintergreen oils. Call us today at (281) 326-9911 to get your treatment started.