Seeing flying ants in your home is never a good sign but having these winged ants in your home in the winter is especially problematic.
Flying ants in attic.
Brave enough to take a closer look.
If the ant species stings like fire ants do the winged fire ants can still do the same.
You ll see that some of the winged ants are much larger than others.
A vacuum is probably the easiest way to quickly remove a large swarm of flying ants.
Flying ants do not bite and they pose no danger to humans.
If you spot a cluster of flying red ants or a full blown flying ant infestation the first thing you ll want to do is repair or replace the rotted wood.
However it is not essential that flying ants in your house would appear after rains only.
While it would be unusual to have an entire colony in your attic it is not unheard of.
In fact these ants behave according to the temperature humidity and the speed of the wind.
This is sometimes referred to as hilltopping.
With rotting damp wood that is normally found near the roof penetration your attic offers sustenance to carpenter ants.
Identify the right insect by looking for key features.
The good news here is that the ants are visible to you and they are still going outdoors to forage which means they will walk through areas that that you treat outdoors.
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.
This is because ants only fly or even have wings when they are getting ready to breed.
It s highly unlikely ants will bite or sting you while they re flying so don t run headlong into any mating swarms and you should be fine.
Mating typically takes place within a single day.
They are most commonly found nesting in wet damp and or rotting wood but may also be present in dry wood.
Ants will build nests where ever they can find a suitable area to do so.
Female flying ants are bigger than males.
Flying ants can be seen out in the open and nest in wood in which they tunnel.
If the ant species bites like a carpenter ant the winged carpenter ants can still bite if they feel threatened.
However winged ants are often mistaken for termites a pest that can be a significant problem if you don t treat them properly and allow termite damage to occur.
Whenever these conditions are favorable.
The vent pipes skylights and chimneys are areas ants can thrive building their nest from the wood available.
Simply suck the pests up with a handheld or full sized vacuum and then immediately replace the vacuum bag.
It s important to note that the carpenter ants do not eat wood but are attracted to damp wood.
When flying ants emerge in a swarm it is for the purpose of mating.
