These past two days I've had some flying ants showing up in my kitchen overnight.

Not knowing where they were coming in from, I have sprayed where they've congregated.

This evening I finally found where they're coming in - through the outer wall under the kitchen window at floor level ie, between the baseboard and the flooring.

Now it's been sprayed so I'm hoping that will take care of it. They are pretty icky. I've had sugar ants infrequently. Carpenter ants are a reoccurence each year, but nothing I haven't been able to manage. This is the first time I've ever had flying ants. Ick, ick and ick. :(

They're small though, and really fragile. Thank goodness for small favors! They respond really well to kitchen bug spray.

And here I used to believe flying ants were unique to Florida. Weird. Maybe global warming is changing their homing patterns.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2017 12:15PM by Amyjo.

Just be glad they are not brown recluses.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCif8txbBQo

Yes, that would be much worse. :(

I have mostly daddy longlegs in my house from time to time. That's one to be on the lookout for!

Check. I had an infestation in my house (now sold and long gone from memory) of brown recluse spiders and it was not good. I'd spray and put sticky traps all around...found so many.

Oh hell no. We get flying ants in Milford every year around the monsoons. It's almost like a weird mating ritual. They drip off the roof and onto the ground in clusters of 6,7,8, 12. I work in a warehouse, and there is a solid line of them dripping off the bay door onto the ground outside. I can barely go in and out that way. It only last for about three or four days. Then they disappear.

That's followed by the crickets. At which point I am always armed with a broom. I don't at all mind the spiders in my office. I do have a problem with flying ants and crickets.

If mine only last 3-4 days (we're in day 4 now,) I'll be glad when the scourge is over.

Crickets I don't mind too much unless there's an infestation of them.

One spring I had a chorus of crickets outside my window where once lived in NYC. They sounded like they were singing almost with their incessant chirping.

Crickets are supposed to bring good luck if one shows up in your house. Put it outside if you must, but don't kill it.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2017 12:24PM by Amyjo.

Here in Cali we get wicked black widow spiders. They have a body like a big black marble with a red hourglass on it. I sometimes find one in the garage with a nest. I give no quarter.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2017 12:42AM by donbagley.

Flamethrower works

We had Black Widows in Idaho where I spent a large chunk of my childhood. I don't recall seeing one where we lived, but my brothers did in the woodshed.

No quarter given here, either.

There was one lurking inside my black-painted mailbox once, and didn't see it at first. I actually brushed it with the side of my hand. I didn't realize it until my fingers were curled around the mail, and the back of my hand brushed against web lines. Then, arachnophobe that I am, I almost wet myself.

I jerked my hand back, and looked more closely. The spider had its front legs raised, in what I guess was a combat stance. I flattened it with a piece of junk mail, and have been reluctant to bring in the mail ever since. If DH doesn't do it, I will, but I take my flashlight and check carefully first.

We have lived in this house for 20+ years, and that was the only time I ever found any kind of creepy-crawlie in the mailbox, but really - a black widow? Yuck!

That would scare the sh*t out of me too!

The presence of ants means you don't have termites.

Flying ones, though. Like my ex wife's flying monkeys?

These ones have wings though I haven't actually observed them flying in my kitchen (thank God for that!)

They've entered through a crack in the baseboard between that and the floor, behind the stove. I must make sure when spraying that area not to ignite the gas lines next to it. (I did that once back in NYC when spraying for ants in my kitchen. The wall lit on fire and the fire department came out. By then the fire was out, but scared me badly. I was so determined to get those damn ants behind the stove that the aerosol spray mixed with the gas from the stove line and poof! a flash of fire went up the kitchen wall, but just as quick it was out.)

These ones with wings I haven't seen before. They're coming in from ground level. They don't seem to take off before they're dropping dead from the insecticide residue still on the floor I've sprayed there in the past two days. Yet overnight they will make it to the kitchen sink where there is a water source because that's where I've found them in the morning - as of today it's now been three days in a row I've observed them there. :(

As a brand-new young bride, I found what I thought were winged ants, milling around the bases of my toilet and bathroom sink. I pointed them out to my husband, who flew into a rage. He demanded to know if I could possibly be any more stupid, as those things were TERMITES.

I had never seen a termite, (but I had never seen a winged ant, either. How was I to know?)

He called the landlord of the apartments, and an exterminator was sent, post-haste. This gentleman confirmed that they were termites.

OMG, to be sure catnip, I googled termite to see if they look like my pests.

They're close, but then compared side by side with flying ants, I can say mine are flying ants.

I did not know that about termites before reading your post!

:(

https://skywaypest.com/assets/images/skyway/pests/termite%20vs%20ant.jpg

Responding to the crickets being good luck, I don't kill them, as my mother and my Facebook friends have told me the same. Not to mention, killing one would really gross me out. I think that comes from a childhood of jumping up and down on hundreds of cockroaches nightly before going inside my house. I cannot step on a bug or kill it by squashing!

As for the ants, I have found that a strategically placed soda cap or milk jug cap Filled with either borax or baking soda, and lined with honey or sugar on the outside will attract the ants and also make them go away.

Good luck!

I may try this if the bug spray doesn't do the trick. I've been evacuating my house for the past two days to ventilate after spraying. So far the pests return again at night.

I was able to narrow down their entrance from what could be observed. The little buggers are coming in behind the stove from outside. Last night I pummeled a whole slew of them with house and garden spray. They're a combination of the sugar ants and the flying torpedoes. Lucky for me I haven't actually seen one of them flying through the air. That might be more than I could bear.

Be sure they are flying ants and not termites.Both look and behave similarly. I have had experience with both.

I've checked and double checked. Short of being able to distinguish between male and female, can say with clarity these are the flying ants.

Except they don't actually visibly fly. They go to the sink or I find them on the floor or window sill.

Disclaimer;-): I'm in France, actually on the eastern edge of Paris, outside the city itself, so your New World ants may not behave as ours do...

However, we get flying ants every year, 3 or 4 times every summer, usually before storms or in "muggy" weather. They fly about, procreate via riotous polyandry ;-) and then 2 things happen: the males die and the females shed their wings and rush about everywhere to try and found new nests... I also saw this in the UK.

However, ants rushing around with wings still on is not a behaviour which I've observed - and I've always been fascinated and repulsed by ants. I lived most of my childhood in a hamlet on Horsell Common (where the Martians land in H.G. Wells' War of The Worlds) and our little cluster of houses was surrounded by European Wood Ant nests heaps. Fun times ;-)

This is the mating ritual I see at work lol it's awful

...riotous polyandry followed by all the males dying?
You must have some workplace! :)

ROFLMAO.

The 'good ole days' (they don't make em like they used to!)

These old movies are even better when you speed em up to 1.5. :D

Looking for love.
I guess it is! :D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuptial_flight

As long as it isn't scorpions or other venomous creatures, or nasty ones that bite or aggressively sting, I don't worry too much about the creatures that venture into the house unless they try to take over.The benefit of being a cat lady is natural pest control. :)

These dang flying ants would take over if they could.

Observed just this morning as I was sweeping up what came in under the baseboard overnight (again,) that the ants I believed were sugar ants, are just baby flying ants in disguise. I had to look closely, but even these ones have tiny little wings attached to them.

It seems there is a colony that got into the foundation from outside this year. I have not had a problem with flying ants ever in my life, before this summer.

They are contained however. The bug spray is stopping them in their tracks as soon as they try to hit the ground running.

It is now Day Five. The population seems to be thinning down, but I won't rest until they are gone.

http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/19843338/flying-ants-invade-wimbledon-disrupting-play

For you Monty Python fans: They Mean to win Wimbledon!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMCNltgrs1U

Okay, that is plain freaky! Glad it was only an annoyance that the games went on as usual.

But swallowing flying ants?

Oh hell no.

Discovered some good remedies for flying ants online as of this morning.

Spraying their trail with soap and water is one. That one's on reserve.

Setting gel baits is another. I've invested in a box of bait traps at Lowe's, and the foundation is staked out, as is the 2 ft of baseboard inside. Supposedly the ants will get the poison from the bait traps then take it back to their colony. Yippee! That's the goal.

The aerosol spray has been helping but hasn't eliminated them so far.

Hope the new measures take effect immediately!

These ants will colonize where ever they find appropriate conditions which includes moist wood. I would find some way to be sure you don't have a moisture condition which may be caused by a leak. I am a roof maintenance and repair contractor and often find these ants inside walls where the roof to wall flashings have been leaking into a wall.

We live in a moist climate. Humidity and clay soil are part and parcel of upstate New York where I reside.

All houses in our area are required by zoning laws to have sump pumps in our crawl spaces & basements because of this. When it rains the water sits on top of the soil and gets into the foundation of houses.

It is a persistent problem here. However this is the first year I've encountered flying ants in the foundation of my house, and we've lived here for nearly two decades. Although they are just another form of the carpenter ants. Those are more common around these parts than the dang flying ones.

Haven't actually seen one of them flying though. That's a relief as I can't stand flying insects.

That being said, the siding on my house was replaced less than two years ago. The contractor at the time let me know if he found any problems with the wood underneath, and repaired some as he went. There hasn't been a problem with that since installation.

These are older homes in my neighborhood. Maybe like people they wear out too, over time. By the time I've replaced things it's almost like having a new house. Only it still isn't.

Another tip to get at an ant colony is to pour boiling water over their nesting place.

So I did that too this morning. No stone left unturned ....

It's war they've waged. It's war they get. ;)

Amyjo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Another tip to get at an ant colony is to pour
> boiling water over their nesting place.
>
> So I did that too this morning. No stone left
> unturned ....
>
> It's war they've waged. It's war they get. ;)

Amyjo,

This is by far the best solution I have ever found for killing all kinds of insects. It is safe, non-toxic, inexpensive and easily available!

https://richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

Thanks for the tip. Will need to check it out further.

It looks promising. :)

her tomato plants, but the ants just keep hiking right over it, swarming around the ripe fruit. She picks the tomatoes and washes them off very thoroughly, but it is beginning to look like "The War of the Ants" around here, too.

And we have a great pest control guy, too. (He doesn't spray for missionaries, though. . .)

Replace the words "flying ants" with "missionaries" in this thread and settle in for a hearty chuckle....

That's a nice visual lol.

With wings would make an added touch. :)

Oh, now after hearing about all these insects and arachnids, I am so creeped out!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2017 05:40PM by Aquarius123.

Me too.

Being this is the first invasion I've had in the 18 years have lived in this place, guess I've gotten off pretty easy.

Still can't stand them in my house. Can tolerate them much better outside than indoors.

It's been just over a week now since the invasion of the flying ants began. Last night was my first real reprieve between then and now.

They didn't come in in hordes between dusk and dawn through the foundation outside the house.

This morning I didn't sweep up a dustpan full of them unlike the past few days.

Something worked between yesterday and today.

Was it the boiling water I poured outside on the foundation? Or the borax bait strips planted strategically by their point of entry? Maybe both? I've gone through 1 can of kitchen/garden insect spray this week in addition to the above, and finishing off a 2nd.

It appears I finally got the colony under control.

It was cheaper than hiring an exterminator to do it myself, all things considered.

Thanks for all the tips and feedback. It helped. :)

Ants I can stand. Lived in Delta, UT for a while. You never get up at night without a flashlight. Found scorpions and rattlers in the house. A Hobart spider bite put me in the hospital and required surgery to fix a finger. Spiders are proof there is no gawd. Mark Twain said flies were proof. A toss up...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2017 06:02PM by incognitotoday.

Oh my golly, that would drive me buggy.

Eek and ick!

I've learned what the blippity blip flying ants respond to best.

It isn't the boric acid.

It isn't the bug spray.

It's the boiling water poured over the ant colony outside where they're coming in from - little pests.

Thought I was rid of them - they were gone for a good week or more. Then returned again. The boiling water seems to do the trick.

It's a heckuva lot cheaper than the other remedies too, and gets right to the nest.

It works for any ant colony f.y.i. :)

(This time I believe I found the hole in the ground where the ants egress and ingress is ...

Though I can't be sure since they only come out at night ... like Gremlins.)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2017 01:54PM by Amyjo.