Termites and flying ants: What’s the difference?

There’s one insect that makes the homeowner tremble at first glance. Of all the insects out there, few can do the tremendous amount of damage of the termite. Still, many confuse this master of destruction with the winged ant. They look remarkably similar, but they’re quite different.

Now, please make no mistake that the winged ant can cause damage to your home, but it doesn’t pose near the threat of the termite. The key before you go into hysterics is to know which pest you’re dealing with so that you can correctly combat the problem. It’s best to take a picture or save a dead bug for further identification. This will help any pest control professional to help you in eradicating the issue.

Termites and Flying Ants

Whether you’re dealing with flying ants or termites makes a big difference in how you treat them. At first glance, these winged pests look the same, but they are vastly different. You certainly don’t need a microscope to identify which insect has invaded your home as there are key characteristics that separate the two.

Source: Kansas State University

• Bodies

When it comes to their appearance, the flying ant has a larger body, but their waist is relatively thin. You can see their thorax and abdomen have a bit of separation due to the indented waist size. They can be a hue of brown or black.

The termite has a straight body with no definition in the mid-section, which means it’s impossible to identify their abdomen from their thorax. They too are either a brown or black color.

• Wings

The wings are another central area where there is a noticeable difference. Both insects have two sets of wings, which are in the front and back of their bodies. However, on the winged ant, you will notice that their front wings are considerably larger than their back ones.

On the termite, both sets of wings are of equal proportion. The flying ant has an antenna bent or elbowed, but the termite’s antennae are straight.

• Behaviors

The flying ants live in a colony in or around your home. These insects’ main goal is to find a place to create new settlements to keep their families going. Unlike other ants, these can swarm or fly, but some of the colony members cannot.

When you see the winged ant in your home, they are swarming and looking to mate. They need to set up a new colony, so once the female has mated, she will break off her wings to begin the laborious task of bringing forth new life. She needs the muscle power it takes her to fly to lay all the eggs.

You might see a pair of wings or two on your windowsills, which can help you identify the insect you have in your home. Once the male mates, they die. Their life’s purpose is to create new colonies by fertilizing the females, and once they fulfill this goal, then they perish.

Just like the ant, termites also live-in colonies. Their colony has three types of insects, workers, soldiers, and the ones that will reproduce. The males in termite colonies don’t perish after mating; however, both male and female will shed their wings when building a new home. Their discarded wings are typically found on the floors, but they may also be on other surfaces.

• Diet

The flying ant loves to dine on nectar as well as other debris. They are known as omnivorous creatures, which means they love to eat plants and animal foods. Within these colonies, the worker is responsible for gathering food for the rest of the ants.

The termites, on the other hand, love to eat decaying matter. They prefer wood and that of dead plants and vegetation. The workers also gather the food for their colony, but their attempts to gather nourishment can cost you thousands in damage to your home.

• Life Cycle

With the winged ant, they go through metamorphosis. Once the queen lays the eggs, they will go through three distinct stages, larvae, pupae, and adulthood. The workers only live for a couple of months, but the queen can live for numerous years.

The termites also go through metamorphosis. Shockingly, the queen of the termite colony can live up to two decades. Sadly, the workers and soldiers of the colonies barely make it a year.

• Habitat

Flying ants prefer to be in the great outdoors, especially when it’s a warm and wet climate. When they come into your home, they will almost always be in the windows looking to get back outside. They ravage your home in search of something to eat, and they don’t want to linger inside, which is why they are drawn to light.

The termite loves to be indoors. They find all the hidden cavities within your home as a beautiful place to set up their colonies. They are often found in basements, where there’s both wood and decay. They can also harbor in porches, under siding, and on roof lines.

• Damage

The biggest problem with the winged ant is the mess they leave behind. Since they shed their wings and the male dies, it’s common to find dead ants and wings lying everywhere. Again, you will probably notice these on the windowsill.

When it comes to destruction, the termite reigns supreme. They can damage the structural integrity of your home, specifically the parts made of wood. Why are they so infatuated with wood? Well, wood has a substance called cellulose that they love to eat. They burrow into wood to extract this nourishment.

Termites and Flying Ants: Getting Rid of The Winged Pests

Now that you can clearly identify the two insects, it’s time to get rid of them. While it may seem like the logical thing to head to your local hardware store for some spray, you must know that these methods are highly unsuccessful if you don’t get to the root of the problem. When dealing with termites, the entire colony needs to be eradicated.

The Winged Ant

When it comes to the winged ant, it’s not as complicated or costly to get rid of. If you only see a few around your windows during mating season, it’s probably not going to pose as big of a threat as if you see termites in your home. Here are some things you can do to keep ants of all varieties at bay:

• Clean Up

If you leave food and garbage around your home, then you’re just asking for trouble. Additionally, ants may not be the only thing that comes into your home for a meal. Keep all your food in airtight containers, and any leftovers should be disposed of. Even dirty dishes in the sink can attract pests.

• Combat the Problem.

With ants, you may be able to get rid of the few stragglers that come into your home with standard products. Now, if they’ve set up shop in your basement, then the chances of ridding them get more complicated. Many poison baits on the market encourage them to take the food back to their colony. Once they eat this food, they will all perish.

The Termite

Sadly, if you have identified termites in your home, then you have a significant issue on your hands. These little minute insects can create more damage than you could ever imagine. They have hearty appetites, so they will not only dine on the structure of your home but furniture and even the boards in your ceilings. There is nothing off-limits to these destructible creatures.

Due to the amount of damage they cause, and the way they reproduce so quickly, you need professional help with these pests. There are a few things you can do; however, to make your home look less appealing to them.

• Spray the Foundation

It’s a good idea to have your foundation sprayed to keep them away from your home every year. Some insect control products allow them to take it back to their colony, where it will continue to kill them.

• Clean Up

If you have woodpiles, leaves, rotting tree stumps, or paper piles near your home, clean them up. The more material that you have like these around your house and yard, the greater the chance of attracting termites to your property. Any stumps from trees that have been cut down should be removed immediately.

Termites and Flying Ants: Final Thoughts

Any insect that invades your space is not welcomed, but it makes it even more challenging to combat when it comes to the ones that fly and swarm around. Both flying ants and termites can cause damage to your home, but the termite’s damage can go into the thousands, primarily when it affects your home’s structural integrity. Since they can destroy wooden materials, nothing in your home made of wood is safe.

If you see any winged creatures swarming around your windows and leaving sawdust and debris behind, then it’s best to have a professional evaluate them. The difference between termites and winged ants are hard to tell, and sometimes it takes a trained eye to identify which one you’re dealing with in your home.

Please don’t wait too long to call for help as the costs increases with every bite they take. There’ve been stories of people losing porches and other structural parts of their home as the termites have eaten it away. You don’t want to be one of those statistics, so you need help immediately.