Flying ants are not very different from regular ants you see outside. The main difference comes from their pair of wings that they proudly display during the summer season, which is the reproduction period of ants.
Ants with wings are the males and the “princesses” of the colonies present on the ground. Their wings will allow them to make a nuptial flight and to reproduce to create another colony. During this summer season, winged or flying ants can become particularly annoying.
To get rid of these flying ants, our pest management experts from Elite Pest Control give you their best advice in this article.
What attracts flying ants to your home?
Flying ants are mainly attracted to the smell of food coming from your home. When these pests enter your home, they usually arrive in numbers.
To avoid attracting these pests to your home, don’t leave any food or food scraps lying around in your kitchen and clean up dirty dishes on your countertops. You can also inspect the inside of your cupboards to make sure no food or crumbs are present.
Flying ants can also enter your home through cracks in the walls or baseboards. Our pest management experts will seal these gaps with their pest control caulking service.
5 solutions to remove flying ants
If you find flying ants in your home, it is likely that there is a colony of thousands nearby. If there is a colony, it is likely that others will quickly develop.
To stop the development of these winged insects, discover the solutions to get rid of flying ants.
1. Essential oils
Essential oils are a particularly effective solution for getting rid of flying ants. Essential oils are also useful for keeping mice out of the house and getting rid of other ants on your property.
The oils that work best with flying insects are peppermint oil or geranium oil. You can put the oil directly on the inside and outside edges of your windows.
For more effectiveness, put a few drops of these essential oils on a cloth and leave it in a few rooms like the kitchen or dining room. The oil can be reapplied as soon as the odor subsides, approximately every 2 or 3 days.
2. Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is a natural insecticide used to get rid of fleas, ticks or even bedbugs. It is however effective against all insects, including flying ants.
To make the best use of it, place a little diatomaceous earth near some food that you have left in a corner of your kitchen for example. Also sprinkle it on the bottom of your garbage cans. In addition to its effectiveness against insects, diatomaceous earth has an absorbent effect that also eliminate bad odors.
This product is easily found in seasonal garden centers and hardware stores like Rona or Canadian Tire.
3. White vinegar
White vinegar is a true daily ally for all the residents of a house. In addition to its cleaning powers, it is an effective repellent against insects and flying ants.
To get rid of flying ants, fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and water. Then spray this solution around windows and front doors. If flying ants are already inside the house, spray directly on the insects and leave the windows open so they can escape.
4. Electric fly trap
As surprising as it may sound, electric fly traps work equally well on fruit flies and flying ants.
These products kill winged ants and should be used more as a complementary solution to get rid of the insects in your home than as a primary repellent.
5. Frankincense
While we find incense to be very pleasant to smell, this flying ant repellent produces particularly unpleasant odors for animals.
Burn a stick of incense in your home. The fragrant smoke will settle in the air and on surfaces and scare away pests.
Be careful, incense is not recommended for pregnant women or infants.
Contact an expert to get rid of flying ants in your home
There are many solutions to get rid of flying ants. It can happen that the insects continue to enter your home despite the application of these tips.
If this is the case and the infestation becomes too apparent, contact our team as soon as possible! Our exterminators in Montreal will take care of your flying ant problem and make your home insect-free!
