Flying Ants Or Termite Swarmers? Three Body Parts Tell You

Look at the antennae, the waist and the wings. University of Maryland Extension puts it simply: termites have straight antennae, no pinched waist, and front and hind wings of similar length. Ants have elbowed antennae, an obviously narrow waist, and front wings longer than the rear pair. Those three features decide whether you have a nuisance or a wood problem.

It matters because the two insects lead to completely different phone calls. Winged ants around a Canton kitchen window in September are usually a passing annoyance. Winged termites in the same spot mean a colony is already feeding somewhere in or against the house.

The Side By Side, In The Order You Will Notice Them

Start with the antennae, because they are the easiest feature to see on a live insect and the hardest to mistake. Then check the waist. Wings are last, since they are often already off by the time you find the insect.

The sizes and colors above come from Ohio State University Extension's BYGL profile of the eastern subterranean termite and from Penn State Extension's pavement ant page. The wing behavior is the detail most people miss: Penn State Extension notes that after crawling and fluttering for a short time, termites break their wings off and look for a mate. That is why a handful of identical loose wings is worth as much as a live insect.

Does The Calendar Settle It?

It narrows the odds without closing the question. BYGL reports that eastern subterranean termites in Ohio swarm over spring and early summer, and Penn State Extension describes swarms of the reproductive caste being noticed in infested buildings during late winter or early spring. A heated basement can run ahead of the weather outside, so a February swarm in a Stark County house is not unusual, while a September one is much less likely.

Ants keep a wider schedule. Penn State Extension says winged ants generally leave the nest in early spring and late summer, varying by species. Carpenter ant swarmers emerge from mature colonies from March through July, according to Ohio State University Extension, and a black carpenter ant colony is usually three and a half to four years old before it can produce them at all. Pavement ants swarm mostly from late spring into early summer, though Penn State Extension notes it is not unusual to see them swarming in late fall and into February even in cold climates. BYGL puts acrobat ant flights in July and August.

So a late September sighting in Northeast Ohio leans strongly toward ants. It does not rule termites out, which is why the body check beats the date check every time.

Where You Found Them Changes The Reading

Indoors is the finding that carries weight. Penn State Extension explains that winged termites are drawn to light, so when they emerge inside a building they swarm around doors and windows, and it calls swarming termites or their wings alone a sure sign that termites are working in that building. The other castes stay hidden, which is why the black winged stage is the one anybody ever sees.

Swarmers indoors are also meaningful for ants, just differently. Ohio State University Extension says the presence of carpenter ant swarmers inside a home indicates an active, mature colony in or near the structure. Carpenter ants do not eat wood, they excavate it, and their borings look like pencil sharpener shavings that get carried out and dropped in small piles under the nest opening. Finding those piles points at a nest in the building.

While you are looking, check for the other structural clue. Penn State Extension describes termite tubes as earth colored runways from soil to the wood the colony is feeding on, which can also serve as exits for a swarm, and tells homeowners to look for them on cellar walls, wooden posts, wall studs, mudsills and door and window trim. That is a different kind of evidence than a single insect, and it is worth a careful look with a flashlight before you call anybody.

Save The Insect Before You Sweep

A vacuumed windowsill loses the only identification anybody had. Five minutes of collecting saves an argument later.

• Put two or three specimens in a small jar, a pill bottle or a zip bag. A piece of clear tape over a few of them works too.
• Sweep the loose wings into the same container rather than into the trash, since equal length wings are diagnostic on their own.
• Photograph the insect from the side against something plain and light, close enough to see the antennae.
• Write down the room, the window or door, the date and roughly how many there were. A basement window in March reads very differently from a porch light in September.
• Look for a second location. One windowsill is a sighting; two rooms is a pattern worth mapping.

Both Insects Are Following Water

Moisture is the shared thread, which is good news, because moisture is the part a homeowner controls. Ohio State University Extension reports that the parent nest of the black carpenter ant sits in damp, decayed wood associated with a moisture content above 15 percent, a condition in buildings usually caused by rain, leaks or condensation, and it calls eliminating those high moisture conditions essential to managing the ants. Leaking roofs, chimney flashing, plumbing, poorly ventilated attics and crawl spaces and blocked gutters are the usual culprits.

The EPA gives homeowners a similar list for subterranean termites: keep the soil around the foundation dry with proper grading and drainage, fix leaks immediately, reduce the openings that give termites access, keep vents clear of blockage, and avoid planting trees and shrubs too close to the structure. Older Canton and Akron housing stock tends to have the downspout and grading problems that feed both lists at once.

Treatment is where the two diverge. The EPA notes that in most cases termiticide application can only be properly performed by a trained pest management professional, who has the knowledge, expertise and equipment the product label requires, and that firms offering termite services must be licensed by the state. For ants, the job is usually finding and treating the nest rather than spraying the ones you can see, which is why our ant control work starts with locating it.

When To Have Somebody Look

If the three features say termite, or if you cannot tell, get it identified. BYGL rates the risk of subterranean termite infestation in Ohio as moderate to heavy, and the eastern subterranean termite is the most common and widely distributed termite species in the continental United States, so this is not an exotic call to make here.

State Termite has worked Stark, Summit, Portage, Wayne and Tuscarawas counties since 1933, out of the office in North Canton and a second one in Hartville. Termite inspections are free. If the insect turns out to be a termite, our termite control options run from liquid barriers to the Sentricon system, which eliminates the colony down to the queen with no drilling or trenching. Buying or selling a house instead? That is a real estate termite inspection, and we wrote about what one covers in our post on termite inspections for a Stark County home.

Bring the jar or the photo when you call. Treatments are pet safe and kid safe, and you usually do not need to be home unless a technician needs interior access. Schedule a free inspection or call 330-494-6199, and say which window you found them at.