Small ants with wings are a problem that pest control companies in Connecticut deal with all the time. Many times these pests are only a problem for a few days and then disappear. When they’re gone some homeowners tend to think it was just a passing problem because of a spring warm up. These homeowners are surprised years later when they realize those small ants with wings were actually termites. The usual outcome is thousands of dollars in costly termite damage repair that could have been avoided
Connecticut is fertile ground for subterranean termites. In fact, towns like North Haven, Hamden, Waterbury, Naugatuck, Fairfield and Southington are loaded with these destructive pests.
The first thing that you should know about termites with wings is that both termites and ants in their reproductive form have wings. The difference is that termites have four whitish colored wings all of equal length. While ants have four wings, two long and 2 short.
The second difference between ants and termites is the body structure. The termite has a two segmented body while ants have a clearly defined 3 segmented body.
Third and the biggest difference between ants and termites is how they present themselves in your home. In Connecticut ants with wings swarm out at the same time every year. Within the industry we call this swarm season. In the months of April, May and first week of June we get calls from homeowners who explain that they have thousands of “ants” in their home.
Most will describe that it happened suddenly at about mid-day and these ants are walking around on the floor aimlessly, gathering in windows and mysteriously shedding white wings on the floor. A real mess is what you’re left with!
Last, most people wonder what they should do next. There are three immediate items to be attended to when having a termite swarm
- Termites are not very tough. They can be sucked with a vacuum and the bag disposed of outside
- Don’t use a pesticide a simple cleaning formula will likely kill them if you don’t have a vacuum
- Call a reputable exterminator. What you’re seeing is really only a symptom of a more serious problem that can only be dealt with by a professional
Termites in Connecticut that appear to just be an ant with wings may be a serious issue. If you see them in your home call Envirocare Pest Control at 1-888-879-6481. We definitely can help.
