When flying ants emerge in a swarm it is for the purpose of mating.
Flying ants in attic.
It s important to note that the carpenter ants do not eat wood but are attracted to damp wood.
While it would be unusual to have an entire colony in your attic it is not unheard of.
Ants will build nests where ever they can find a suitable area to do so.
Brave enough to take a closer look.
Flying ants do not bite and they pose no danger to humans.
The flying ants form various colonies then swarm around certain places in the area usually a place of slightly higher elevation such as a hill tree or roof.
However winged ants are often mistaken for termites a pest that can be a significant problem if you don t treat them properly and allow termite damage to occur.
This usually happens after few days of heavy rain.
Seeing flying ants in your home is never a good sign but having these winged ants in your home in the winter is especially problematic.
If the ant species stings like fire ants do the winged fire ants can still do the same.
The good news here is that the ants are visible to you and they are still going outdoors to forage which means they will walk through areas that that you treat outdoors.
Identify the right insect by looking for key features.
Whenever these conditions are favorable.
Mating typically takes place within a single day.
With rotting damp wood that is normally found near the roof penetration your attic offers sustenance to carpenter ants.
A vacuum is probably the easiest way to quickly remove a large swarm of flying ants.
Flying ants can be seen out in the open and nest in wood in which they tunnel.
This is because ants only fly or even have wings when they are getting ready to breed.
However it is not essential that flying ants in your house would appear after rains only.
In 2018 flying ants invaded the court at wimbledon distracting tennis players and making news headlines around the world.
If the ant species bites like a carpenter ant the winged carpenter ants can still bite if they feel threatened.
In fact these ants behave according to the temperature humidity and the speed of the wind.
This is sometimes referred to as hilltopping.
The bigger ones are the queens they re up to 15mm in length.
The vent pipes skylights and chimneys are areas ants can thrive building their nest from the wood available.
It s highly unlikely ants will bite or sting you while they re flying so don t run headlong into any mating swarms and you should be fine.
If you spot a cluster of flying red ants or a full blown flying ant infestation the first thing you ll want to do is repair or replace the rotted wood.
Female flying ants are bigger than males.
