Flying Ants In-House? Explore Reasons, Solutions, And Prevention Methods

Finding ants flying inside your home can be confusing and worrying. These flying ants (Also Known As “Alates”) usually appear when a colony is growing or when they are looking for a new place to settle. Through this blog post, we will explore the reasons behind the presence of flying ants in-house and the steps to reduce their presence in your home. We will also share some simple tips to prevent these flying visitors from coming back in the future. Finally, we’ll get to know the right time to call pest control. With the right steps, you can keep your living space free of these visitors.

Reasons Behind Flying Ants In Home

Seeing ants with wings inside your house can be worrying. These insects usually mean there is a colony nearby or something attracting them. Knowing why they are there helps you fix the problem.

1. Increased Air Moisture – Ants like moist areas as well. So if your home has high humidity (Like In the Kitchen or Bathroom), it can attract these winged ants. The damp conditions are like the environments where flying visitors naturally thrive and breed.
2. Pest Infiltration – They may appear within your home if there is an ant colony nearby. These Alates are the reproductive ones that leave the next to find mates and create new colonies, often swarming indoors during the process.
3. Energy Source – Flying ants are attracted to light, especially during the nighttime. If you have a bright light in your home, they might fly inside, looking for a place to land, and end up trapped within.
4. Rotting Wood – Some of these insects also nest in wood, especially in damp or rotting areas. If your home has decaying wood, it may attract these winged ants that are searching for a new place to live, further leading them to swarm inside.
5. Availability Of Food – Flying ants within the house are often drawn to food sources inside your home, especially sugary or greasy substances. If food is left exposed, it can encourage these insects to enter your home while foraging for substances.

These winged ants in your home need quick action. Finding out why they are there, solving this issue, and preventing them can keep your house safe and comfortable.

How To Get Rid Of Flying Ants?

Flying ants in-house can be annoying for anyone. But you can use these DIY & product-based solutions to make these flying visitors go away from your home.

DIY Solutions To Remove Flying Ants

1. Essential Oils — Some of these oils (Like the fragrances of Lemon, Thyme, And Tea Tree) can repel ants. You need to mix a few drops of these oils with water and spray around baseboards, windows, and doors. While effective, they do not kill ants, so you must use them alongside other pest control methods.
2. Spray White Vinegar — It is a great repellent for ants. To use white vinegar, you need to mix vinegar with water in a spray bottle and spray it around doors and windows to keep ants away from your house.
3. Peppermint Extract And Dishwashing Liquid – Mix peppermint extracts with water and some dishwashing liquid as well. You will need to spray this mixture along ant trails as well as entry points. The strong scents of this mixture resist flying ants. Besides this, the soap confuses their navigation and natural communication.
4. Sprinkle Cayenne Or Cinnamon Powder — It will also help you to keep winged ants away by irritating their smell. You can sprinkle this powder around baseboards and appliances, and try different natural remedies to find the best one for your home.

Product-Based Solutions

1. Spray Insecticides – Use these insecticides that are specially made to repel flying ants. These chemicals will kill the ants and also stop more of them from coming into your space. You also need to consider the manufacturer’s guidelines to know the right way to use them.
2. Glue Traps – Place glue traps as well near ant hotspots or along their pathways. These traps help to capture Alates and prevent them from further coming into your home. You should also check and replace these glue traps at regular intervals to ensure their continued effectiveness.
3. Install Ant Baits – You can also place ant baits around the location where you saw these insects. The ants will take the bait back to their nest, which further helps kill the colony and stops more ants from coming back into your house.
4. Ant Gel – You can use this gel for all major types of ants and its core ingredient is “indoxacarb”. But it spreads the effect to a larger area than the place you have placed it as well.

Managing flying ants outside keeps your yard enjoyable and protects your house. Using these simple tips will help you keep your space free of these bothersome insects.

Steps To Prevent Flying Ants In The Future

Stopping ants with wings from coming inside is easier than fixing an infestation. Simple prevention tips can help keep your house clean, safe, and free from these pesky insects.

1. Maintain A Dry And Tidy Home – Ants need water to live as well. Hence, you need to clean the spills and fix leaky pipes so that these Alates do not get inside your home and create a messy environment.
2. Keep Your Food In Airtight Containers – Alates are attracted to food, especially sweets and crumbs. To keep them away, store all your food in airtight containers. This also helps prevent infestations and keeps your kitchen away from the flying ants in-house.
3. Seal All The Cracks And Damages – You should check your windows, doors, and walls for cracks or gaps. You should seal them with weather stripping to stop flying ants from entering your home. This will further help keep the ants outside and prevent them from coming in.
4. Removing Decaying Wood — Rotting wood can weaken your home’s structure and attract pests, providing food and shelter for their colony. Hence, you should replace such a wooden structure as soon as possible.

Preventing flying ants in-house is a great way of keeping your place free from pests. Use these easy tips to stop them and avoid dealing with bigger problems later.

When Should We Call Pest Control?

Flying ants in-house can be hard to deal with. If home remedies do not work in your case, professional pest control might be the best option to get rid of them. So here are some situations when you might need to call pest control.

1. More Ants Than You Can Handle — When the ants’ population grows beyond your control, over-the-counter solutions may fail. A professional pest control service ensures complete eradication through targeted treatments, preventing further growth and damage to your property.
2. Flying Ants Keep Coming Back — Recurring flying ant issues indicate a persistent infestation. Pest control experts identify and eliminate the root cause, ensuring long-term solutions rather than temporary relief.
3. Unable To Locate Ant Infestation — Hidden ant colonies can remain undetected in walls, basements, or attics. Professionals use advanced tools and methods to locate and destroy these concealed nests. As a result, it addresses the problem comprehensively.

If flying ants in-house are a regular problem, pest control professionals can fix it for good, keeping your home safe and comfortable.

Wrapping Things Up

If you see Alates flying inside your house, it usually means there is a colony nearby, or something is attracting them. Ants with wings are the ones looking for mates and new places to live. They are often drawn to light, damp areas, or food like sugary snacks. To prevent flying ants in-house, you should keep your home clean, seal cracks, and fix any leaks or rotting wood. Regular vacuuming and storing food in airtight containers can also help keep them away.

FAQs

Question. How can I tell if winged ants are from an infestation or passing through?

Answer. If you see many flying ants in-house (especially during swarming season), it might mean an infestation. Yet, a few occasional Alates could be from an outside colony.

Question. Are winged ants the same as regular ants?

Answer. No! Flying ants are reproductive ones that have wings on their backs, but worker ants do not have wings. Alates leave the nest to mate and start new colonies during swarming season.

Question. What is the best time of the year to expect winged ants?

Answer. Flying ants in-house are most common in the late spring to early summer season, especially after rain. They swarm during warm and humid environments to mate and form new colonies.