swarming

It would appear that I have found carpenter ants in one room of our house. After killing around 20 of them I looked up a picture of them and believe the 20 I killed to be queens because they all have wings and look just like the pictures I found on the internet. What should I do?? Bug bomb? Call the Orkin man? 🙂 My concern is that they will destroy my home as well as cause chaos in my home with my 5 young children. The ones we found were in my young boy’s room on the second floor of the house. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Just like anyone that contacts us, we always recommend you read up on this pest first so you may better understand how they behave, the damage they do and how service companies will treat the problem. One you get this knowledge from our CARPENTER ANT ARTICLE, you should be able to decide if this is a problem you want to tackle yourself or call for professional help.

Please keep in mind the service is usually costly so doing it yourself can save a significant amount of money. That being said, if you’re not able to get an idea of where the nest or nests are located, it might be best to hire a service company because in the end, finding and treating the nest is usually critical to solving the problem.

Carpenter Ants: https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control

we have flying ants. do they bite? how to get rid of them?

Most all ants will generate “flyers”. These are usually reproductives (aka: males and females, kings and queens, etc.) with the sole purpose of leaving an existing nest to mate and start new nests. In most cases seeing 1-2 of these in the home does not mean you have a local problem. But if you’re seeing 5-10 or more, it’s highly likely there is a nest in or on your home which will need attention (chemical treatments).

Another possible insect that sends out flyers in the spring are TERMITES. These guys are very different from ants but in fact can be a much bigger problem. There are some key differences between ants and termites but the swarmers each will generate can be quite similar.

Can flying ants bite? Absolutely. The rule to follow here is based on the species. For example, pavement ants are docile and don’t sting or bite. And the swarmers they produce tend to be very similar. Fireants, however, are stinging pests. They use a piercing stinger located on their abdomen which can deliver a nasty bit of potent poison. Their swarmers can sting as well as the other members of the local colony. So the rule here is if the species you have is known to bite or sting, it’s most likely their swarmers can too.

At this point I suggest you find out for sure if you have ants or termites. Next, I’d start doing one of the recommended treatments explained in either our TERMITE ARTICLE or ANT CONTROL ARTICLE. And if these ants are large and black, it’s most likely you’ll need to do one of the recommended CARPENTER ANT CONTROL treatments.

Alternatively you could choose to do some treatments without knowing for sure. Inside the home, PHANTOM AEROSOL is effective on both ants and termites and will provide good control for the immediate situation. But if you have termites or carpenter ants, you’ll probably need to use some TERMIDOR and treat around the home where these pests are entering or nesting for a longer resolution.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Termite Swarmers or Ants: http://www.termites-swarming.com/winged/winged-ants-or-termites-swarming.html

Termite Control: http://www.termites-swarming.com/termite-control

Ant Control: http://www.bugspray.com/article/ants.html

Carpenter Ant Control: https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control

Phantom: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz

Termidor: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/termidor-sc-20-oz