Are you noticing flying ants around your home; congregating around your outside light or flying ant wings in your dogs water bowl? I was asked a very good question this week ~ should I worry if I have swarms of flying ants in and around my home? Firstly you need to determine whether they are termites with wings known as termite reproductives or ants with wings; below is a picture of each and a description of their differences;

Ants with wings

long legs

two sets of odd sized wings

narrow constricted waist

elbowed antennae

Termites with Wings

short legs

two sets of even sized wings

broad waist

straight beaded antennae

The termite reproductives are the young potential king and queen termites that leave the termite colony to start a new colonies. They have wings to help them disperse and they loose them after they mate. They usually emerge on a moist warm day, especially after a rain storm. If your home is invaded by the future king and queen termites you at risk of a new colony starting and you would ask the question how far away from your home is the colony they left behind? This is one of the reasons we recommend regular termite inspections and termite management systems and encourage our customers to be vigilant with ensuring the conducive conditions for termite attack in and around their home are kept to a minimum.