Termites and Flying Ants - How To Spot The Difference

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Termites are definitely a house guest that you want to discourage.  These tiny insects feed on wood, wreaking havoc when they infest a property and often causing thousands of dollars' worth of damage.  When the weather becomes warm and damp during the late spring and summer, the termites are stimulated to swarm.  It's during this phase of their life cycle that you are most likely to notice them around your property, as they search for a new place to start a colony. 

However, before you call out your local pest control company, you might want to be sure that the winged invaders you've spotted are actually termites and not just harmless flying ants.  Flying ants are stimulated to swarm by the same weather conditions that trigger the termites, and it can be easy to confuse the two, since they both look very similar. 

Here's a quick guide to help you distinguish between friend and foe!

  1. Have a close look at the insects that you've spotted and take note of the antennae.  Flying ants have long antennae with a distinctive bent shape.  Termites also have antennae, but theirs are much shorter and straighter.  
  2. Termites and flying ants both have two pairs of wings, but they are actually quite different in appearance.  The wings of a flying ant are dark brownish tinted and the front pair is much larger than the rear pair.  Termites have white, almost translucent wings, and both sets are more or less the same size. You will often find small piles of wings discarded on your window sills or on the ground beneath them.  This indicates that the termites have reached the next phase of their swarming habit.  Wingless termites now crawl away in search of a suitable food source and place to colonise, so piles of shed wings could spell trouble.  
  3. Finally, look closely at the shape of the insect's body.  Although both termites and ants are pretty much the same size, there are obvious differences in the structure.  An ant's body has three clearly different parts; the head, thorax, and abdomen, whereas the termite's body is formed on one distinct part and is the same width from its head to its backside.

In conclusion

If you think you have identified your winged visitors as termites, it's important that you contact your local termite control company without delay.  The sooner the pests are eradicated, the less chance they have to inflict damage on your home.

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18 October 2016

Removing ants from the kitchen

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