There are many species of ants that a property owner may encounter both outside and inside a structure. In our area the most common varieties of ants are Odorous House Ants and Carpenter Ants. Pavement Ants, Citronella Ants, and a few others may be occasional invaders. One variety that you’ll notice was not mentioned is Flying Ants. That’s because they don’t exist, at least by name.
Ant Behavior
You may be finding ants with wings in your home or commercial property, but they are one of the many common varieties. Once an ant colony reaches maturity, it will produce reproductive, winged adult ants. The sole purpose of these winged ants is to reproduce and establish a new colony.
Some species of ants go through a process called “budding”. These are colonies that have multiple potential queens. If the colony is disturbed, a portion of the colony along with its potential queen will move to establish a new colony. Be careful to verify it is indeed ants you are seeing. Many people assume they have ants when, in fact, they have a swarm of termites.
What to do?
A swarm of flying ants on your structure is not something to take lightly. As often the case with insects, you may be seeing the tip of the infestation iceberg. You will most likely need to contact a pest control company (or exterminators in old terminology). The pest management company will be able to properly identify which variety of ants you are encountering and treat them appropriately. Depending on the species, location of infestation, and time of year the pest control technician will employ a different approach to ant control.
Getting Control
Often times, a one-time ant control treatment may not be the best method to get good results. Most property owners who have ant problems will find that a Quarterly Pest Control program works best with addressing ants. The technician will use all sorts of professional-grade ant control materials not available to the public to best reduce ant populations.
If you would like to find out more about ant control treatments and other pest control services, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
