How To Treat Flying Ants

How To Treat Flying Ants

If you’re not familiar with the term, a Flying Ant is the common name for an insect in the family Formicidae, found in almost all parts of the world. Most ants are wingless, but a few species have developed winged forms which take to the air (this is called “flying”) and they then function as true flying ants.

There is something almost surreal about having flying ants invade your home. That said, it’s important to address flying ants as soon as possible.

Add floor bait traps in the kitchen and bathroom. Flying ants like sweet foods, so try mixing Jam with sugar or honey for flying ant bait. Coffee grounds, peanut butter and rhubarb leaves are also attractive to flying ants. Place the traps just outside your doors so that quickly as the ants come into your home they will be attracted to the bait.

How To Treat Flying Ants

Flying ants are a nuisance in many situations, but they can be especially problematic for people with food allergies. They’re not harmful to humans, but their stings can cause painful swelling and irritation in people who have allergies to ant venom.

Flying ants, also known as sugar ants, are a common pest in the United States. They can be found in nearly every state, and they’re often attracted to moist areas with decaying organic matter. These pests can be a serious problem for homeowners, who are often forced to pay for professional extermination services that can be expensive and time-consuming.

However, there are several easy ways you can treat flying ants yourself with just a few simple tools. Here’s how:

How To Treat Flying Ants

1) Locate the nest. The first step is to locate where the ants are coming from—typically it’s an underground nest or a tree branch. You may notice some ants coming and going from an opening near your home, but these may just be scouts or workers looking for food sources. To find out exactly where they’re coming from, try searching your yard in the evening after sunset when most of the ants will have returned to their nests (they’re nocturnal). You’ll likely find them near plants or trees that have been cut back recently—these are natural food sources for them! If there’s no obvious sign of an entrance point for their nest (such as leaves folded over), try digging around nearby soft soil until you find one.

2) Wash down your property with water every day or two until all of the ants have been killed off; this will get rid of most of them quickly and easily without having to spend any money on pest control products (unless those are necessary).

How To Treat Flying Ants

Your task now is breaking up the colony and eradicating the pest infestation. The first step to get rid of flying ants is to determine what they look like.

Identify the Insects

This can be an especially tricky task given that they are often mistaken for termites. But there are some key differences. In addition to large front wings, flying ants will develop small hind wings, elbowed antennae and small waists that concave at the thorax, with female winged ants appearing significantly larger than male ants. Flying ants’ bodies can be black, brown or red.

Suck Them Up

If there are large, visible swarms of flying ants in your home, the easiest way to remove them is with a vacuum cleaner (both full-size or handheld will work just fine here). Vacuum the critters anywhere you see them, and be sure to replace the vacuum bag immediately.

Get Things in Mint Condition

Peppermint works as a natural ant repellent because its scent is reminiscent of a predator’s. You can get rid of flying ants by mixing one part liquid dish soap and two parts water in a spray bottle and adding several drops of peppermint oil to the mixture. Shake the bottle, and then spray the flying ants wherever you see them. The soap will dehydrate the insects, while the peppermint oil suffocates them.

If you don’t have any peppermint oil on hand, fear not. There are lots of essential oils that are known to repel ants. Tea tree, cinnamon, clove, cedarwood and patchouli oils could all work in place of the peppermint oil here.

Use Pesticide to Move the Pests Aside

If the idea of making your insect repellent is, well, repellent, to you, you can use a commercial-grade pesticide instead. Spray pesticides will kill any visible flying ants, though you’ll still have to do some more work to deal with the colony itself (see below). Be sure to wear goggles and use caution when spraying a pesticide indoors.

Stick It to Them

Another effective tool for eradicating swarms of flying ants is commercial glue traps, also known as sticky fly traps, which can easily be found at your local hardware store. Simply place several around your home according to package instructions, focusing on areas where you’ve noticed the common insects congregate. The flying ants will fly directly into them, and the glue will stop them in their tracks.

If you want to go the DIY route, you can make your own glue trap by laying out strips of duct tape around your home with the sticky side facing upward. In order to most effectively attract the ants, try sprinkling a bit of sugar or drizzling a little honey on top of the sticky part.

List Of How To Treat Flying Ants