Ants with wings are just another species of ants ,found only in winter season. Although their life cycle is very short but in case the situation becomes too severe , it becomes necessary to get rid of flying ants by hook or crook!
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About Flying Ants
Also called swarmers, Flying ants have (well maintained) thin-waist, two pairs of wings with front wings larger than hind wings. Female ants are larger in size than male ones.
They love to mate during monsoons and female partners discard their wings and male ants die after mating.
To prevent flying ant infestation and to get rid of them if already infested ,following are some of the tried and tested methods.
House Inspection
This is the first and foremost important step in diagnosing ant infestation. Carefully examine both indoors and outdoors of your house.
Look for any damp, rotten wood and dark hidden places for ants. Finding their nest is very important to get rid of flying ants completely. Finding their source is the war half won.
Block Entry Points
After thorough inspection has been completed, next step should be to seal all the suspected entry points like slits, cracks, any gaps under doors or windows.
You can use any good sealant like silicone sealants or can use home made soapy solutions to prevent their entry to your home.
Left over food
We should not waste food , even school children are aware of this issue of food shortage worldwide.
But we keep on wasting food at our home , it also invites flying ants to your home. We should discourage leftovers and if there are any, we should keep it in some sealed containers.
Commercial Poison-sprays
Ant-sprays are available in abundant in market. Buy aerosol “manufactured for ants” to kill them. You can kill them while they are flying as well as spray on their colonies.
“While using Poison Spray follow instructions carefully and keep it away from kids and pets. Cover your face with a quality mask when using ant spray”
Bug zappers
Bug Zappers allure all type of insects including Flying ants. Zappers are available in different sizes to suit their placements.
You can fix them in kitchen , halls or hang them in courtyards. Always keep them out of reach of children.
Home made Baits
You should always prefer non-toxic and natural methods to get rid of flying ants. The idea is to trap them in these mixtures and let them take this solution to their nests where queen is hiding and hence destroy all the colony at once.
You can try following mixtures to kill them.
- Baking soda with grounded sugar
- Borax and sugar mixed in equal portions and diluted with water
- Artificial sweetener(Aspartame) mixed with fruit juice(preferably apple)
The paste made out of above ingredients act as a slow poison which helps them to carry it to their colonies to feed others and therefore it is considered as effective bait.
Home made Sprays
Natural and non-poisonous sprays do not endanger your and your family’s health .You can prepare effective sprays at home in following ways.
Peppermint spray
Buy peppermint oil if it is not available at home, Mix few drops of oil with water and pour solution in a spray bottle and that’s it.
This natural spray will suffocate and eventually kill flying ants. You can use this spray to get rid of flying ants without any apprehension of health issues.
Soap water aerosol
Take some liquid soap and make a consistent solution with small amount of water . Fill any available aerosol bottle with this solution and you are ready to fire these flying ants , dehydrating them with your home made dish-soap spray .
Destroy Nest
If you have a good luck on your side and are successful in finding a probable colony , its time to attack and kill them .
Pour hot boiling water over the ant hill to quench them .Some of the flying ants will definitely try to escape this attack so be prepared to save yourself from their bites by fully covering your body.
If possible before using this method, try to fence the anthill all around it. You can also use broken or leaked bucket or pot in upside position and then pour boiling water through some hole into this bucket.
“Use commercially available( toxic)pesticides only if other natural ways to get rid of flying ants fail. Best way is to find a nest and destroy it to prevent future infestations”
