How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and flying/winged
termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that have
been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. There are
numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

Walter Cohen wrote:
How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and
flying/winged termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that
have been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. There
are numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

Do a search for both and you should find some good illustrations of their
wing and body shapes. I had a similar problem last year and ours turned out
to be the lesser evil of the two (ants).

It took about a month but we got rid of them last year, (as I look down I
see a scout crossing the floor now, seems it is ant hunting season all over
again.

"Walter Cohen" wrote in message
...
How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and flying/winged
termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that have
been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. There are
numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

http://images.google.com/images?q=fl...firefox-a&um=1

Google is your friend!

Walter Cohen wrote:

How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and
flying/winged termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that
have been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home.
There are numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

It would be difficult (for me) to tell the difference, even with
references and a microscope. Here is an article about Florida
subterranean termits which illustrates some differences:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG097

First and foremost, have a reputable company do a termite inspection.
Usually free around here. A dominant termite in your area might be very
different than my area; take bugs/wings to your local extension service
(county or state if you are in a rural area) = ours has bug
specialists. You can find a lot of the signs of termite infestation by
reading topics for your area, and also steps for preventing them that
are relatively simple. A decent extension service should know what
termites are predominant in your locale and the most effective
treatments for them. The chain pest control service often have
sub-contractors who do actual treatment - careful in shopping. Do you
have annual termite inspections?

Inspect around the openings where you find the shed wings - knock around
to see if there are hollow sounding spots in the wood, bubbly or rippled
looking surface on drywall (termites like to eat the paper cover), signs
of water leaks, pinholes, piles of blackish or dark reddish droppings.
On outside, damaged wood, gaps around window/door frames and siding,
landscape against wood, wood too close to ground, stucco that goes down
below grade, gaps around plumbing entries outside or in floor, mud
"termite tunnels" on foundation (or inside crawl space).

In article [email protected],
"Slightly Graying Wolf"
wrote:

Do a search for both and you should find some good illustrations of their
wing and body shapes. I had a similar problem last year and ours turned out
to be the lesser evil of the two (ants).

It took about a month but we got rid of them last year, (as I look down I
see a scout crossing the floor now, seems it is ant hunting season all over
again.

in all seriousness, you probably didn't get rid of them as much as you
endured their mating/migration/whatever season.

Ants taste like limes, termites taste like lemons.

..max

--
This signature can be appended to your outgoing mesages. Many people include in
their signatures contact information, and perhaps a joke or quotation.

On Apr 12, 9:48*am, "Walter Cohen" wrote:
How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and flying/winged
termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that have
been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. *There are
numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

Are they large, Carpenter ants can do alot of damage, they dont spread
like termites but they ruin wood like termites.

I have the same problem with small carpenter ants. I have seen a few
with wings. They are also around my windowsill. I purchased some of
those Raid stakes they sell in the supermarket and put a few around
outside my house. They seem to have subsided somewhat. I followed
everyones advice with avoiding wet/damp spots around outside of house
like gutters, leaves, old wood.

Walter Cohen wrote:
How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and
flying/winged termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that
have been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. There
are numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

I had same problem years ago. They were flying ants. Flying ants look
like ants whereas termites have a broad waist vs. ants which are
segmented. I had to spray area in garage floor where the ants were
coming from.

Next door neighbor had termites and I got a good look at them as they
were infesting wood near my house. I put stakes around house and they
never came in. Neighbor, however, had wood damage and they had to bait
to kill the colony which was outside.

No, not large at all (without their wings), and they certainly are NOT
carpenter ants as I already have those!
W
"ransley" wrote in message
...
On Apr 12, 9:48 am, "Walter Cohen" wrote:
How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and flying/winged
termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that have
been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. There are
numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

Are they large, Carpenter ants can do alot of damage, they dont spread
like termites but they ruin wood like termites.

I've had good success with Combat ant killing gel.

W
"Slightly Graying Wolf" wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
Walter Cohen wrote:
How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and
flying/winged termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that
have been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. There
are numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

Do a search for both and you should find some good illustrations of their
wing and body shapes. I had a similar problem last year and ours turned
out to be the lesser evil of the two (ants).

It took about a month but we got rid of them last year, (as I look down I
see a scout crossing the floor now, seems it is ant hunting season all
over again.

On Apr 12, 11:45 am, ransley wrote:

Are they large, Carpenter ants can do alot of damage, they dont spread
like termites but they ruin wood like termites.

No, they spread faster than termites. The OP is most likely seeing
carpenter ants.

Carpenter ants, IME, run straight for the highest (and warmest) point
in the house, nest there and eat their way down.

Subterranean termites are not nearly so ambitious. They tend to
remain close to the ground and eat their way up, usually damaging
wooden foundation structure.

The problem with both is that not seeing them not having them.

The big problem with eradicating carpenter ants is that the PCO
rarely, if ever, treats the highest point of the structure where the
first nest is usually established.

They detect and avoid the applied pesticide so the homeowner doesn't
see them and thinks they're "cured".

The typical PCO very often just stresses the colony so it splits into
2 ensuring the potential of future business. Not necessarily by ill
intent, just ignorance.
-----

- gpsman

Actually, after seeing pictures of both and grabbing a few specimens it
looks like swarming termites. They have 4 exact same length wings, straight
abdomen (not thin like ant), straight antennae.

Oh well, time to get to work (actually time to get a professional out here).

W
"gpsman" wrote in message
...
On Apr 12, 11:45 am, ransley wrote:

Are they large, Carpenter ants can do alot of damage, they dont spread
like termites but they ruin wood like termites.

No, they spread faster than termites. The OP is most likely seeing
carpenter ants.

Carpenter ants, IME, run straight for the highest (and warmest) point
in the house, nest there and eat their way down.

Subterranean termites are not nearly so ambitious. They tend to
remain close to the ground and eat their way up, usually damaging
wooden foundation structure.

The problem with both is that not seeing them not having them.

The big problem with eradicating carpenter ants is that the PCO
rarely, if ever, treats the highest point of the structure where the
first nest is usually established.

They detect and avoid the applied pesticide so the homeowner doesn't
see them and thinks they're "cured".

The typical PCO very often just stresses the colony so it splits into
2 ensuring the potential of future business. Not necessarily by ill
intent, just ignorance.
-----

- gpsman

On Apr 12, 12:51 pm, "Walter Cohen" wrote:
Actually, after seeing pictures of both and grabbing a few specimens it
looks like swarming termites. They have 4 exact same length wings, straight
abdomen (not thin like ant), straight antennae.

They're not hard to tell apart.

Oh well, time to get to work (actually time to get a professional out here).

Seeing "swarms" is not evidence of infestation. Stick with your PCO
and make them show you mud tunnels if they suggest treatment.

And, mud tunnels alone are not "proof" of infestation. They could be
old and/or abandoned and/or previously treated by a former owner.
-----

- gpsman

"Frank" [email protected] wrote in message
Next door neighbor had termites and I got a good look at them as they were
infesting wood near my house. I put stakes around house and they never
came in.

Lucky you. I put steaks around the house and a lot of people show up.

Walter Cohen wrote:

No, not large at all (without their wings), and they certainly are NOT
carpenter ants as I already have those!
W
"ransley" wrote in message
...
On Apr 12, 9:48 am, "Walter Cohen" wrote:

How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and
flying/winged
termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that
have
been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. There are
numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter


Are they large, Carpenter ants can do alot of damage, they dont spread
like termites but they ruin wood like termites.

They tend to infest already damaged wood - damp, rotted, earlier
infested by termites.
We had loads of them in/around our Florida condo, but never found them
in sound wood.
Cleaning up and making repairs worked far better than poison.

gpsman wrote:

On Apr 12, 12:51 pm, "Walter Cohen" wrote:


Actually, after seeing pictures of both and grabbing a few specimens it
looks like swarming termites. They have 4 exact same length wings, straight
abdomen (not thin like ant), straight antennae.



They're not hard to tell apart.



Oh well, time to get to work (actually time to get a professional out here).



Seeing "swarms" is not evidence of infestation. Stick with your PCO
and make them show you mud tunnels if they suggest treatment.



Mud tunnels are formed only by subterranean termites. "Dry wood" or
"damp wood" termites don't build them.
Termites avoid daylight, the purpose of building tubes.

And, mud tunnels alone are not "proof" of infestation. They could be
old and/or abandoned and/or previously treated by a former owner.
-----

- gpsman

gpsman wrote:
....
Seeing "swarms" is not evidence of infestation. Stick with your PCO
and make them show you mud tunnels if they suggest treatment.

And, mud tunnels alone are not "proof" of infestation. They could be
old and/or abandoned and/or previously treated by a former owner.
....

Seeing swarms may not be absolutely conclusive, but _inside_ as OP says
it's pretty doggone likely to indicate a fairly sizable infestation
(amhikt ).

Check for pinholes in the sheetrock around the area you see them
congregating in--there's a good chance they are in the walls
behind/around the windows and they will burrow out through the sheetrock
to swarm (again, amhikt)...

There undoubtedly are tunnels, but they may be in places you can't get
to to find them (like the insides of block walls, etc.).

--

--

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Frank" [email protected] wrote in message
Next door neighbor had termites and I got a good look at them as
they were infesting wood near my house. I put stakes around house
and they never came in.

Lucky you. I put steaks around the house and a lot of people show up.

You could use a stake on the strangers who want your raw steaks, but it
won't help.

Here's a tip that could save your life: This business about a wooden stake
through the heart of a vampire is pure Hollywood bull****!

If you read Bram Stoker's novel, you'll find the implement used to dispatch
a vampire is a BOWIE KNIFE, not some ****ant tent peg.

I live in Texas. We have a lot of Bowie knives and damn few vampires.

"HeyBub" wrote in message

I live in Texas. We have a lot of Bowie knives and damn few vampires.


Proof enough for me.

On Apr 12, 10:48*am, "Walter Cohen" wrote:
How do I tell the difference between flying/winged ants and flying/winged
termites?
I have what look like winged ants (black bodies with long wings) that have
been congregating on the inside of a window sill in my home. *There are
numerous discarded wings along the floor too.

Any help is appreciated.
Walter

Easy job, termite antennae look like a string of beads (filoform) and
are straight
Ant antennae have a bend like a pipe elbow.