Flying Ants

The ants freaking you out

Why do ants fly?

Because it is fun? Maybe the flying part is fun too, but they actually do it to mate. All species of ants, everywhere in the world, have a winged form. The winged stage is created once the colony is mature, with a male (the smaller ones) and a female (larger) form. They are forced out of the nest by the workers to go forth, mate with each other and propogate the species. Unfortunately for the males this is all they do – the males all die shortly after the nuptial flight. All of the worker ants (those without wings) that you ever see are female.

If you have flying ants of any size or colour emerging inside your home, it means you probably have at least one ant nest inside your home.

If you have flying ants emerging in early spring, you probably are dealing with carpenter ants. If the winged ants are emerging in late spring or summer they could be odourous house ants, pavement ants, thatching ants, or field ants. If the winged ants are flying in late summer they are probably cornfield ants. If they are very large, really weak flyers, and they are emerging in the late summer evening, they are probably pacific dampwood termites, not ants at all.

Not sure what kind of ants you have?

Collect a few samples and send them to us, snap some pictures and email them to us, or give us a call and we will help figure out what you need for effective ant control.