Flying Ants In The Attic

They just only come out during certain times of the year to do work for their ant colonies.

Flying ants in the attic.

The ants pick up the bait and take it back to the nest where it kills the entire colony. While it would be unusual to have an entire colony in your attic it is not unheard of. Whenever these conditions are favorable. While most ants are wingless and flightless flying ants also known as alates or swarmers are still normal carpenter ants.

Flying ants usually are more of a nuisance than harmful although they might damage plants during their few days of infestation. If the ant species bites like a carpenter ant the winged carpenter ants can still bite if they feel threatened. It sounds a bit out of character for ants to be in your attic they generally only are found in places that have a food source of some type. They are most commonly found nesting in wet damp and or rotting wood but may also be present in dry wood.

When flying ants emerge in a swarm it is for the purpose of mating. A single ant colony could have as many as 50 000 individuals. In fact these ants behave according to the temperature humidity and the speed of the wind. Flying ants are sometimes mistaken for flying termites and the opposite also is true.

Ants will build nests where ever they can find a suitable area to do so. When ants do this to your attic structures it could significantly compromise its stability and your roof could cave in any. If the ant species stings like fire ants do the winged fire ants can still do the same. Ants could damage your attic in as few as six months.

They can look quite similar to each other. Dry wood termites. Termites however can be harmful to houses and other structures and are considered pests. However it is not essential that flying ants in your house would appear after rains only.

Flying ants may seem more formidable than their tiny ant counterparts. Are you sure they are ants and not termites. 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. Interestingly though flying ants also known as swarmers or alates aren t actually a different variety of ant at all.

This usually happens after few days of heavy rain. 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. Make sure that the bait you have purchased is specifically for carpenter ants. Seeing a flying ant in your home or yard can be troubling but is by no means a reason to panic.

Insecticide spray is a good option for just a few flying ants as it won t have a big impact on the colony as a whole.