How to get rid of ants with wings in your house?

The appearance of ants with wings in a living room is an unpleasant surprise. Let's figure out what these insects are, how they get inside the dwelling, what danger they carry, how to get rid of them.

I would like to clarify right away that winged ants are not some kind of separate species from the ant superfamily, the order of Hymenoptera. They are just sexually mature individuals, ready to mate. When they grow wings, they fly away from their nest to create their own colony.

After fertilization, the female burrows into the ground, clogging up all the entrances and exits, and equips a small nest there, where she lays eggs. Its wings die off, their muscles atrophy as unnecessary. The female eats the discarded wings, and after hatching of the larvae, she also eats the shells of the eggs. The wings of this individual will never grow again.

The winged male dies soon after mating. Those small ants that we most often see on the street are work horses with an underdeveloped reproductive system, incapable of procreation. Large winged ants are the "father" and "mother" of the colony.

You ask: what happens to the female next? She becomes a womb - huge and awkward. She is fed by the entire colony created by her. When changing their place of residence, the ants move their uterus to a new place, carefully hiding it, since it is very important for the further increase in the population.

How do flying ants appear in the house? There are several ways for an insect to enter a human dwelling:

• in the summer they can easily fly into the room through an open window or a window, if there are no mosquito nets on them or there are large enough holes in them;
• with the same success a flying ant can penetrate and through the front door;
• he can "Land" on a person or pet and "enter" the premises on it;
• if in a private house there is bakeequipped with a chimney, then here is another option for insect penetration;
• flying ants often enter a city apartment through the ventilation holes.

Are winged ants dangerous? Generally speaking, not really, that is, they do not tolerate any fatal infection, and their bites, although they are quite painful, do not cause much harm (except in cases of individual intolerance and allergic reactions). But their appearance is fraught with reproduction, therefore, the appearance and growth of the colony, which is already much more unpleasant. After all, working ants in search of food will begin to crawl in places where food is stored, will spoil them, and this is unlikely to please anyone.

We warn you in advance: you should be careful to poison ants, like any other pests, especially if there are small children or pets in the room.

Let's start with the most harmless folk methods.

• Ants dislike the smells of lemon, anise, tomato, garlic, clove, mint, vinegar and parsley. Lemon juice or a solution of vinegar and water (1: 1) can be wiped or sprayed on the places where the ant colony is located, and the spices can be spread in the corners of the apartment, under the baseboards, on the windowsills.
• Mix water, honey and fresh yeast until a paste-like consistency. Apply the prepared mixture to a piece of paper and place it where you see pests most often.
• You can remove ants with the following spray: Get a plastic bottle, a spray nozzle, dishwashing detergent or liquid soap (1 part), peppermint extract (15 drops, available at the pharmacy) and water (2 parts). Spray all the nooks and crannies in the house.
• Another recipe: sugar + honey + boric acid. Saturate the bread crumb with the mixture, spread in the habitat of the ants. After about a month, you will see that the insects have disappeared.
• Finally, you can prepare a trap like this: mix any minced meat with boric acid. Murashi meat will be eaten with pleasure, and boric acid will serve as a poison.

To begin with, consider the types of drugs that are used to kill ants. Sprays are great for getting rid of volatile species. You will have to handle the dwelling by closing all doors and windows. The most popular products in this category.

• Good old "Dichlorvos"... A highly toxic agent. When working with him, you must use personal protective equipment: respirator, goggles and gloves. Be sure to remove children and pets from your home. Some modern modifications of "Dichlorvos", for example, "Neo" and "Varan", do not have such a pungent smell characteristic of the drug, however, this does not mean that their effectiveness is less.
• Raid... Has a prolonged action, preventing the reappearance of pests. Use only in well ventilated areas. Processing is carried out in the absence of animals and people. The person conducting it must protect himself with the help of PPE.
• Combat Super Spray. An aerosol of rapid action, also used for prophylactic purposes. It has an attractive fruity scent. Can be sprayed into the air or directly into insect congestion areas.

After you spray the drug indoors, leave it for at least a couple of hours. When you return, collect and dispose of all dead insects, do a wet cleaning.

The drug "Kieselguhr" (diatomaceous earth) scatter the preparation where there are most ants - when an insect gets on it, its chitinous cover will be disturbed, and it will die. At the same time, diatomaceous earth is not dangerous for people and animals.

Prepare for them such a deadly "lunch"... Take the yolk of a hard-boiled chicken egg, 2 sachets of boric acid, and 1 tbsp. l. granulated sugar. Mix everything well. Form balls slightly larger than a pea from the resulting mass and spread them in places where insects are located. The ants will not only "peck" the bait themselves, but will also carry it to their nest, where the individuals who have eaten the poison will also die.

What store-bought chemicals can I use? Below is a list of the most popular ones.

• Delicia... A product from a German manufacturer. It is characterized by economy and ease of use. Can be purchased as a spray, tablet, or powder. The action of the drug is based on the destruction of a protein responsible for the passage of nerve impulses.
• Raptor. Domestic product. Effective, safe and easy to use. Poisoning of a colony (including masonry) occurs due to the transfer of matter on the paws of workers. The remedy begins to act very quickly.
• Karbofos. Produced in the Russian Federation.Allows you to fight ants even in huge areas (for example, in workshops, production areas, warehouses, etc.). Very toxic, has a suffocating odor. Penetrates through the chitinous cover of insects, poisoning them in just 3 hours. Method of production: ampoule, granular, emulsion, powder.
• The last drug worthy of attention is Dr. Klaus. Country of origin - Russia. A toxic nerve agent. Concentrates, granules and spray can be found on the market. It is best to use an aerosol form in your home.

Often, the colony is deployed not in plain sight, but in a rather secret corner of an apartment or private house. In order for the poison to kill all those ants (including eggs, larvae and uterus) that do not leave the nest, a delayed-action agent should be used so that workers can bring the poisoned food into the anthill and "treat" them to their fellows.

What other means can kill flying ants?

Ants with wings flock to the light, so you can put a device near its source - a "racket" fly swatter, powered by batteries or a network. When uninvited guests appear (not only ants, but also other flying insects), she will destroy them with the help of small current discharges.

They look, of course, very unattractive, but if the problem of attack by winged insects is acute in your home, a trap can be a good assistant in the fight against them. Just hang the sticky tape from the ceiling next to the light emitting sources and wait for ants and other harmful insects to flock to its attractive sweetish scent. They will stick to the trap, but they will not be able to get out.

What should be done to ensure that winged ants never start in a living room? Of course, take preventive measures.

• When building a house, it is recommended treat its foundation with a solution of creosote, which the ants are afraid of. They simply will not form a colony in this place. Creosote will create a kind of protective barrier against parasites.
• Before entering the house (near the door), sprinkle some cinnamon powder, talcum powder, or ground pepper.
• Combine water and liquid soap (the mixture must be sufficiently concentrated), pour the composition into a spray bottle and thoroughly treat all window and door openings, as well as baseboards with it.
• Using construction sealant, cover the cracks in the walls of the room.
• Flying ants, like their wingless relatives, are very greedy for sweets... Therefore, keep baked goods, sweets and other similar sweets hermetically sealed, do not leave them on the table, pick up crumbs. In general, try not to leave dirty dishes and candy wrappers on the table - wash the dishes and take out the trash on time.
• There is one very unusual way to get rid of an already established ant colony: catch forest ants and release them in the house. This species does not live indoors, and all individuals will leave it on their own forever, but only when the entire home colony is destroyed by them.
• Murashi do not like some flavors, therefore, it is recommended to lay out dried herbs throughout the house - elderberry, wormwood, mint.
• Clean up closets and shelves oftenwhere you store cereals, pasta, tea, condiments, and other foods. Wipe inside and out while removing all jars and bags. You can use water with vinegar - ants don't like its harsh smell.
• When ant moves are found in the house tape them up, cover up with construction putty or ordinary plasticine.
• Murashi are attracted not only by food debris, but also by waterTherefore, all exposed surfaces in the home must be dry, including the kitchen sink, bathtub, and sink.

How to get rid of ants in the video below.