# What kind of ants are these?



## hammermonkey (Oct 9, 2008)

Does anyone know what kind of ants these are? 

Pic 1 || Pic 2

I don't think they are termites since their bodies are sectional.

They have taken over my kitchen. There are small black ones, small ones with wings and larger ones with wings.

And is there any way to get rid of these things without a exterminator?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## fabrk8r (Feb 12, 2010)

*I think you are correct. Those look like winged ants.

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-ants.htm

To get rid of winged ants or flying ants, what are usually found to be Carpenter Ants, chemicals like Niban and bendiocarbs are used. *People often mistake carpenter ants for termites when the carpenter ant begins to swarm, coming out of cracks in the walls and flooring of a house. Carpenter ants do not, in fact, eat wood. If they have reestablished themselves in a home, it is only because there is an ample food supply (sweets and proteins), burrowing through wood only to expand their nests. To get rid of carpenter ants, locate their nest by listening for rustling noises in walls where you most often see wandering ants. Once the nest is located, drilling holes and applying residual and aerosol insecticides in combination seems to be the most effective way to get rid of carpenter ants.


----------



## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

One thing I have done to minimize damage from drilling holes is if using a liquid insecticide, I have used a hypodermic needle and syringe to basically stab through the drywall and inject the liquid. If you use something like a turkey injector, the hole in the needle is on the side so you can rotate it as you apply pressure enough to help spray it a bit further than just squirting it into the hole.

The holes due to that can be patched with a little drywall mud and a dab of paint.\


----------



## hammermonkey (Oct 9, 2008)

fabrk8r said:


> *I think you are correct. Those look like winged ants.
> 
> http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-ants.htm
> 
> To get rid of winged ants or flying ants, what are usually found to be Carpenter Ants, chemicals like Niban and bendiocarbs are used. *People often mistake carpenter ants for termites when the carpenter ant begins to swarm, coming out of cracks in the walls and flooring of a house. Carpenter ants do not, in fact, eat wood. If they have reestablished themselves in a home, it is only because there is an ample food supply (sweets and proteins), burrowing through wood only to expand their nests. To get rid of carpenter ants, locate their nest by listening for rustling noises in walls where you most often see wandering ants. Once the nest is located, drilling holes and applying residual and aerosol insecticides in combination seems to be the most effective way to get rid of carpenter ants.


Thanks for the response and the article. We will try to locate their nest in hopes of getting rid of them as soon as possible.


----------



## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

I'm not ready yet to call them winged ants; consider that they may be parasitic wasps. Do a search for parasitic wasp images/photos. Take some samples to a country extension office, agriculture office, etc. 

They are not termites.

The photos are helpful, but not as crisp as my eyes need. What I am seeing is that their wings are longer than their body, and are parallel with their body. Ants typically have shorter wings that are more perpendicular to their body.

If they are wasps, nothing to worry about or do. Probably won't happen again. If they are ants, seeing winged ants indicates a reproductive swarm. Do you see small, unwinged ants in the same area on occasion? If so, liquid ant bait stations work well on the small ants. Keep us posted. I'm curious.


----------



## mikeylikesit580 (Sep 28, 2010)

I used terro, comes in a little orange bottle


----------

