Termites
Flying ants or flying termites: how to tell which it is and what to do
- Both swarm with the first rains, from April to June, at night and toward the light. It's the nuptial flight: they're off to found new colonies.
- Narrow waist, elbowed antennae and wings of two sizes: ant. Straight body, straight antennae and four equal wings: termite.
- If they come out from inside the house (a baseboard, a beam, a frame), the colony is in the structure. If they come in through the window, they're from outside.
- Spraying the flying ones solves nothing. Keep one in a jar and request an inspection: for termites it's free.
The short answer
Those winged insects that suddenly filled the living room one rainy night, circling the light bulb, can be flying ants or flying termites. Both happen on the same days, for the same reason, and look almost the same from two meters away. To tell them apart you need to pick one up and look at three details: the waist, the antennae and the wings. The comparison is below.
What really matters isn't that night's swarm, which dies on its own within hours, but where it came from. If they came in through the open window, they're from a nest in the neighborhood and the problem is minor. If they came out of a crack in the baseboard, a door frame or a beam, the colony is inside your house, and that's what needs attention.
Why they come out with the first rains
Ants and termites live in colonies with a queen. When the colony matures (for termites, after 3 to 5 years), it produces winged individuals whose only job is to leave, mate and found new colonies. This is the nuptial flight. They wait for high humidity, heat and little wind, and in Costa Rica that arrives with the first rains in April, May and June. That's why in the Central Valley the calls about "flying ants" spike during those weeks.
They come out at dusk and fly toward the light because the brightness helps them orient toward open spaces; a lit bulb with the window open works like a lighthouse. Almost all of them die that same night: they're eaten by lizards and toads, or they dry out. The few that mate shed their wings and look for damp wood or soil to start a colony.
Winged ant or winged termite: the three details
Pick up an insect with a piece of paper, put it under a light and compare:
- Waist. The ant has a narrow, well-defined waist, like a wasp: head, thorax and abdomen clearly separated. The termite has a straight, even body, with no waist, like a grain of rice with legs.
- Antennae. The ant's have an elbow, a bend halfway along. The termite's are straight, like a string of tiny beads.
- Wings. The ant has four wings of two sizes: the front ones clearly longer than the hind ones. The termite has four equal wings, long, extending well past the body, and they fall off easily.
Extra clue: the winged termite is dark brown and soft, it squashes with no resistance; the winged ant is harder. If the insect is big (2 to 3 cm), reddish, with a wide head and visible mandibles, it's most likely a leafcutter ant queen (zompopa), which we cover below.
What it means if they come out inside the house
This is the question that decides everything. A swarm that comes in through the window is annoying but harmless. A swarm that comes out of the house itself is a diagnosis:
- Termites coming out of a baseboard, a door frame, a beam, the ceiling or a crack in the floor: there's a mature termite colony inside the structure. A colony needs years to produce swarmers, so it has been eating wood for a long time without anyone seeing it. It usually comes with small mud tubes on walls and wood that sounds hollow. How to confirm it is in how to know if my house has termites.
- Winged ants coming out of a wall, an electrical outlet or from under the floor: there's an ant nest inside the wall or the ceiling. It doesn't damage the structure like termites do, but it does mean a large colony that will keep sending workers into the kitchen all year.
- Insects coming in through open windows and doors, with no exit point inside: they're from outside. Close up, clean up and watch over the next few days.
Loose wings on the windows. Often you don't see the flight. What you see the next morning are transparent wings, all the same size, piled up on a window frame, in a spider web or under a lamp. That's the trace of a termite flight: termites shed their wings as soon as they land. Equal wings showing up in the same spot several mornings in a row mean the exit point is near that window. Keep them in an envelope.
What to do that night
- Turn off the lights in the room where they're coming in and turn one on outside, away from the house, to draw them there.
- Close windows and doors, and check that the screens don't have holes.
- Vacuum the ones already inside. Empty the bag or canister into a closed bag and throw it out outside.
- Keep two or three whole specimens in a jar along with some loose wings. That's what makes it possible to identify the species the next day without guessing. A sharp photo with a coin next to it also works.
- Notice where they come out. If you see the exact spot (a gap in the baseboard, a frame, a crack), mark it with tape. It's the most valuable piece of information for the inspection.
What not to do
Don't spray the flying ones. Spraying the swarm kills a few that were going to die that night anyway and doesn't touch the colony that produced them, which remains intact in the wood or the wall. Spraying the crack they came out of doesn't help either: the colony is much deeper inside, and insecticide at the entrance makes it seal that spot and open another one. Don't fill the crack with putty before the inspection, because that erases the clue. And don't throw away the specimens.
Winged leafcutter ants: the May queens
There's a third player on those nights. Leafcutter ants (zompopas, Atta) also make their nuptial flight with the first rains in May, and their queens are big, 2 to 3 cm, reddish brown, heavy and with long wings. They're the ones that arrive in large numbers at the lights of terraces and parking lots and scare people with their size. They don't sting or bite, they don't go into the kitchen and they don't live inside the house. The risk is different: if a queen lands in your garden and founds a nest, in one or two years you'll have an ant colony that strips the plants at night. If the next day you see wingless queens walking across the yard, pick them up; it's the cheapest way to prevent a nest. The leafcutter ant control guide explains what to do when the nest already exists.
When to request an inspection
Request one if any of these three things happens: the insects came out of a point inside the house; loose wings show up on the same window several mornings; or a baseboard, a frame or a beam sounds hollow or has small mud tubes. The termite inspection is free: we check the wood, the ceiling and the exit points, and you know the same day whether it's termites, ants or leafcutter ants and how advanced it is. With the jar you kept, identification is immediate.
What it costs
It depends on what it turns out to be. Termites: free inspection and furniture treatment from ₡59,900; the structure is quoted based on the affected wood, with details on the termite control page. Ants nesting in a wall or ceiling: house or apartment up to 100 m² for ₡39,900 with VAT, up to 200 m² ₡49,900, as explained on the ant control page. Leafcutter ants: depending on the size of the nest. No travel charge in the Greater Metropolitan Area, you can go back in one hour later. Date confirmed on WhatsApp in under an hour.
Frequently asked questions
Are flying ants termites?
Not necessarily. In April and May, winged ants, winged termites and leafcutter ant queens all take flight, and at a glance they look alike. Look at the waist: the ant has a narrow, well-defined one; the termite has a straight body with no waist. The ant's antennae have an elbow; the termite's are straight like a string of beads.
Why did winged insects come out inside my house?
Because there's a mature colony inside or right against the structure. Winged termites come out through cracks in baseboards, frames and beams that the colony has been eating for years. Winged ants come out of nests in hollow walls, the ceiling or under the floor. In both cases the swarm is the sign, not the problem.
What should I do with the wings that show up on the windows?
Keep them in a jar or a bag together with one or two whole insects. Loose wings that are all the same, on a window frame or in a spider web, are the clearest trace of a recent termite flight, because termites shed them when they land. With the sample, the species is identified during the inspection.
How much do the inspection and treatment cost?
The termite inspection is free. Treatment of a piece of furniture starts at ₡59,900 and structural treatment is quoted based on the affected wood. If they turn out to be ants, treatment of a house up to 100 m² costs ₡39,900 with VAT. Leafcutter ants are quoted based on the nest.