Am I Seeing Flying Ants or Flying Termites Around My Donelson Property?

It is a wonderful time of year in Donelson. This is when all of the insects come back to life. This is also a time when two insects, in particular, can present a threat to your Donelson home. They are the carpenter ant and the subterranean termite. While some people worry about not being able to tell these two insects apart because termites are much more destructive than carpenter ants, this shouldn’t be the case. They’re easy to distinguish from each other. Here are a few easy ways you can tell whether or not you’re looking at a flying ant or a termite swarmer when you find one on your Donelson property.

First of all, if you’re wondering, “What are termite swarmers?” or “What are flying ants?” we’ll cover that real quick. Ant and termite colonies produce winged insects for the purpose of creating new nests. These are female and male reproductives. If you’re seeing them in your yard, it is likely that you have a mature nest on your property. Swarms don’t last long and they don’t travel far.

If it looks like an ant with wings, it is likely that you’re looking at a flying ant. Termites don’t look like ants. Ants have a thin neck and a thin waist, giving them three distinct parts. The neck of a termite is thick and its waist has no pinch at all. This gives a termite more of a pill shape than an ant shape.

Swarmers look very different from other termites in a colony. Termite workers, which make up the vast majority of termites in a colony, are pale white in coloration. Swarmers are black or dark brown, depending on the species. But the body of a termite swarmer is not likely what you’re going to notice first. Looking down on these tiny insects, that may only be about ⅝ of an inch long, you’re going to see mostly wings. The wings are stacked on top of each other, are rounded at the tips, and hang over the end of the swarmer’s abdomen. They’re also an eye-catching white. If you’re looking at a dozen or more termite swarmers, those wings are going to catch your attention.

Carpenter ants and termites are very active during this part of the year. We offer termite protection services to help safeguard your Donelson property from these highly destructive pests. We also offer our Perimeter PLUS Pest Control program that will help protect your home from carpenter ants and a wide variety of other pests that commonly call Donelson home. Whether you are facing problems with damaging pests like carpenter ants and termites or nuisance pests like house spiders and earwigs, give us a call today to learn about our many pest control options.