I have a problem with flying insects. They look like giant flying ants, about 1 inch long. I thought they may have been termites, but a friend of mine said they weren't. I live in Tampa Florida. They seem to come around at the beginning of summer.
They swarm the outside of my house and find any way in they can, through gaps in the windows and doors, under baseboards, etc. They don't bite but are a real pain. Does anyone have any idea what they are and how I can get rid of them permanently?
By LKaylor from Tampa, FL
You may want to Google for Palmetto Bugs in Florida.. Take a look at posted pictures and compare them to what you see. Then you may want to compare pictures of Wood Roaches.. Sorry to say that "roach" word but both mature and fly. They are not like the "dirty roach" that is attracted to food. But, needless to say, it may be what you are referring to.
They may indeed be ants. We have carpenter ants which are huge and I can bet in Florida all bugs are bigger! When an ant colony gets too big, they swarm. Some grow wings and leave the nest to start new colonies elsewhere.
I live in Spring Hill, Fl and those are flying ants. They only swarm and last a few days and they do not hurt you or anything. Usually they die soon after entering the house. I find them all over the floor in one of the bedrooms and in my home office. I just sweep them up and after about a week you won't see any more of them in your home.
As said in another post, carpenter ants.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do you get rid of flying ants in the house?
By Nancy Falvo from Roselle, IL
Number one, if they fly, odds are that they are carpenter ants,and you need to get an exterminator...fast! They can eat and bore through wood like a termite. They don't cover as widespread area as termites, but they can chew through a supporting wall stud, before you can think twice.
I can't answer this question, they are not termites and they are driving me crazy too. Tiny flying ants and we have sprayed three times. They swarm in my bedroom and its totally clean, so help please.
I just woke up to my whole front and back door covered with thousands of them !!!!
Does anyone have a remedy for tiny flying ants that are swarming one of my windows in the bedroom I rent in a shared house? My landlord refuses to do anything about it (that's another story). I get about 60-80 little flying ants about 5 or 6 PM each evening that fly around any lights when they're turned on, and are gone the next morning.
Honestly, I do not think that there is anything that can be done. That is nature. Ants live everywhere and it would be impossible to kill them all. I'd just shut the window since you know when they appear. After you turn the lights off, then reopen the window.
The same type thing happened here last week but it was only 2 nights. I own my condo. The association has a pest man coming out tomorrow to look at my walls or something. I think they were termites. They had wings. The weird thing was first I found a real bull ant crawling on my leg, yucky.
Cornmeal a thin line, they pick it up to feed their colonies. Great thing is the cornmeal swells up and kills them.
