Ants can be a menace to deal with.
Flying ants in roof.
Flying ants have a pair of large front wings and a smaller pair of back wings while winged termites have two pair of same sized wings.
The males then die and the females disperse to establish colonies or in some rare cases.
8 ways to differentiate between carpenter ants and termites.
While most ants are wingless and flightless flying ants also known as alates or swarmers are still normal carpenter ants.
Although summer is a common mating season for flying ants their sighting in winter are also not uncommon.
Seeing a flying ant in your home or yard can be troubling but is by no means a reason to panic.
Hence during the mating season always screen your roof.
Flying ants or alates as entomologists refer to them are simply ants that are sexually mature.
These are the reproductives of the colony created by the queen and fed by the workers the reproductives go through their immature stages developing inside of the colony.
Most species of ants produce winged ants that fly.
Termites also have wings in some seasons and they almost look like flying ants.
Interestingly though flying ants also known as swarmers or alates aren t actually a different variety of ant at all.
Natural ways to get rid of flying ants.
The flying ants form various colonies then swarm around certain places in the area usually a place of slightly higher elevation such as a hill tree or roof.
Flying ants resurface every summer and can cause disruption and discomfort to homes and gardens.
Mating typically takes place within a single day.
This is sometimes referred to as hilltopping.
Flying ants may seem more formidable than their tiny ant counterparts.
Flying ants are sexually mature ants who are looking to start a new colony.
How to differentiate between flying ants and termites.
So if flying ants are seen in the home in the winter it is most likely that it is an ant that is living within the structure of your home and worse it is very likely that there is a carpenter ant nest within the structure.
If you suspect that you have ants entering your home via your roof or attic it s important to identify the source and stop the ants in their tracks.
If you are struggling with the pests here are six simple tips for how you can get rid of flying ants.
When the ant colony is naturally ready to expand.
But beyond that they can cause structural damage to your home and roof costing you money and causing major inconvenience.