Cleaning & Organizing Pest Control Spider & Insect Control

Why Are There Flying Ants In My Home?

Here's how to identify and get rid of ants in your home

flying ant

The Spruce / Giuseppe Intrieri

Flying ants are primarily found in tropical or subtropical regions of the country but can occur anywhere. So, why do flying ants suddenly appear? Ants with wings are generally seen after it rains or are most active in the warm days of late spring and summer. Most are mating and searching for a place to establish a new colony. Many male flying ants die immediately after mating, and not all queen ants survive to start a new colony.

The good news is flying ants do not bite or aren't dangerous. If you find an infestation in your home or have settled in for the winter, they're likely carpenter ants, although they can be hard to tell apart from termites. Here's how to identify, eliminate, and prevent the influx of flying ants in your home.

What Is a Flying Ant?

Flying ants are not a unique species but one developmental phase common to all ant species. Flying ants, or ‟alates,” are mature male and female ants. These ants fly out of their colonies with the goal of mating.

Strategies to Eliminate Flying Ants From Your Home

Handle the Immediate Problem

You can get rid of swarms with a vacuum, whether a handheld or full-sized vacuum with a hose attachment. Immediately remove the vacuum bag and get it out of the house so the ants can't find their way back inside.

Spray pesticides will also kill visible ants, both crawling and flying. However, these will not affect the hidden colony, which will continue breeding more ants until it is addressed. Sprays should be used with great caution when used indoors.

If you feel strongly about the safety of commercial pest treatment, try natural ant control by mixing dish soap and peppermint oil. Fill a spray bottle with one part liquid soap, two parts water, and a few drops of oil, and then spray the ants and the surrounding area. The soap immobilizes and eventually dehydrates the insect, while the peppermint oil suffocates them.

Attack the Colony

As with any ant infestation, you will not rid your home of all the ants unless you attack the colony where they are breeding. This colony is the source of the flying ants and is best addressed by setting ant bait. Liquid ant bait is a sweet substance mixed with borax or another substance that disrupts the ants' reproduction cycle. The ants pick up the bait and take it back to the nest, where it eventually disrupts the entire colony.

As an alternative, insecticidal dust can be injected into the area where the ants live. A professional exterminator is best suited to handle this solution, which requires pinpointing the ant colony's exact location.

Replace Damaged Wood

If you see a swarm of winged ants indoors—especially if you spot them during the winter months when they are most likely breeding—there is a strong likelihood of a flying ant nest within your home. That can be quite a severe problem, as flying ants are second only to termites in their ability to do structural damage. Flying ants are larger than typical house ants, as much as 1 inch long.

If flying ants or carpenter ants are infesting your home, it's important to remove and replace any rotten, decaying wood in the walls or under the floors for two reasons. Decayed and rotten wood can lead to structural integrity issues, and this decaying material attracts and sustains the ant colony.

Wood replacement can be an involved project if the damage is extensive, probably requiring the work of a professional contractor. But you can't guarantee you've fully rid your home of flying ants unless you have removed the decaying wood they nest in.

Warning

Ant baits are generally fairly harmless substances, but you should still take precautions to set them in areas where pets and children can't reach them. Ant baits contain sweet substances that attract ants and can be tasty to pets. Some insecticidal sprays and dusts are mildly toxic to pets and humans and should be used carefully and selectively—aimed directly at visible ants, not applied indiscriminately.

Flying Ants vs. Termites

Flying ants take flight to mate, gather in massive clusters, and then return to an existing nest or seek a new one. The presence of flying ants means there is likely decaying wood somewhere. Winged ants look like termites, a pest that can be a significant problem if you don't treat them properly. Identify the insects by looking for key features:

  • Wings: The wings of flying ants are unequal in length. Carpenter ants also have yellowish-colored wings. Termite wings are equal in size and are white.
  • Antennae: Flying ants have bent antennae. Termites have straight antennae.
  • Body shape: Flying ants have a narrow, more defined body shape with an hourglass figure, such as a thin abdomen and a visible "waist." Termites have a uniform, round body, and no defined waist.
  • Size: To the eye, flying ants and termites are similar in size. However, if you have a measuring tape, termites are slightly smaller, ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, while flying ants (the queen) can reach 3/4 inch.
  • Color: Flying ants and termites have dark-colored bodies, usually brown or black. Unlike termites, flying ants can sometimes have a reddish-brown coloration,
  • Life Cycle: Flying ants have four stages of life, while termites have three. Flying ants go from egg to larva, then pupae and adult. Termites start as eggs and then move into larvae before their adult phases.
  • Nesting Habitat: Flying ants love water, so it comes as no surprise that they nest near water, typically around pipes or drains in your home. Flying ants carve out tunnels and galleries to nest. Termites nest in wooden structures or near plant life.
  • Diet: Flying ants don't eat this decaying wood like termites. Instead, they eat seeds, tree nectar, food scraps, and other insects. Since termites eat the wood, their damage can be more severe.

The Spruce / Brianna Gilmartin

Why Are Flying Ants In My Home

Flying ants are found in the home for the same reason as crawling ants: there are sources of food and moisture and areas for establishing colonies. Most species of ants feed on ordinary food substances and can colonize in almost any dark, hidden area.

If you see these types of ants, the hidden colony is well-established and capable of reproducing ants. However, if you identify flying ants, they have found decaying wood somewhere in your home, probably hidden in the walls near ground level or under the floors.

How to Prevent Flying Ants

The best way to prevent ant species from infesting your home is to eliminate food sources. Store foods in closed containers, and keep floors and countertops uniformly clean. Sweet or greasy materials are especially attractive to ants. Store pet foods in tight containers, and sweep up spilled pet foods.

Even if you think the ant problem has been treated, there's always the potential for another swarm. Seal cracks around the windows and baseboards or walls to stop a possible second invasion.

To prevent flying ants, regularly inspect and repair decaying wood. Structural walls near ground level can be especially prone to rot, especially in warm, damp climates and when homes are built on slab foundations.

When to Call a Professional

If your homemade remedies aren't working, it might be time to hire a pest control service. While noticing one flying ant may not warrant concern, spotting several indicates a mature nest somewhere nearby that needs to be destroyed.

Since flying ants mate to create more offspring, a professional can inspect your home and prevent a potential problem from becoming an actual one.

FAQ
  • Do flying ants bite?

    Most species of ants are not stinging insects, though some can inflict bites, usually defensively. Unlike mosquitoes and some flies, ants that have taken to the air have no interest in biting you.

  • Why do flying ants suddenly appear?

    If you suddenly notice an army of flying ants in your home, a mature nest is somewhere in your home or near your property. Like termites, flying ants travel in colonies, looking for their next area to nest and increase their colony.

  • Do I need to do anything if I see flying ants in my home?

    Flying ants do not cause physical harm, but if you spot a few around your windows or in other areas of your home, it's best to begin treating the problem. Prevention is key to decreasing the population of flying ants in your home, so it's time to get rid of these pests.

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Peppermint and Peppermint Oil Profile. New York State Integrated Pest Management / Cornell Cooperative Extension.

  2. Insects in the City. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension.